A Regular Christmas Carol
by BlueScarlet465
Summary: Christmas in July, I'm bringing it back with a tale that takes place 20 years after 'Steak Me Amadeus' happened. The only thing is, in this story Mordecai never got over Margaret leaving for college. You could even say that he turned into a little bit of a 'Scrooge'. But he isn't the only one that has changed...Rated M for Character Death, Rape, Violence, Cursing (NOT A TRAGEDY)
1. Prelude: Dead on the Fourth

**_A/N: SINCE TIME MACHINES DON'T EXIST, I DON'T OWN REGULAR SHOW OR ITS CHARACTERS. THAT INCLUDES THE CLASSIC TALE OF '_****_THE CHRISTMAS CAROL_****_'…CHARLES DICKENS BEAT ME TO IT_**

_**P.S. Characters are normal, this time**_

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**Introduction:**

Do you remember that joyous time of the year when school would close and Summer would welcome us with open arms? When you had so much to look forward to and no school work to drag you down…well, except for summer reading, the bastards. Anyway, this was a time of relaxation; to play, hang out with friends, or crashing in front of the AC/fan because sometimes it was too freaking hot, ladies and gentlemen. And for those times when you would spend inside playing video games or watching TV, there was a certain month that a few kids would look forward to in the Summer and that was July

Why July of all months? Well, there was the 4th of July with all of the fireworks and the cookouts and junk, but that was only one day which left the rest of the 27 days of nothing but hot weather and a creative mind to occupy your free time. Not easy for some of us with nothing to do and nowhere to go so what was there for us for the rest of the month? Christmas in July. Remember that?

For those that don't remember or wasn't around for this. It was a special, magical time when Christmas specials would play on TV; reminding us that the Christmas spirit didn't have to die down just because January came along. Peace and good-will could be spread year-round; even during the stickiest, most hottest of days…either that or they were accommodating for the kids that wished to be back to school and missed Winter because it was too freaking hot (and then turned around to Winter and to say 'Oh, it's too damn cold, I wish it was Summer again')

Well, my fanfiction audience, I'm here to tell you that I'm bring it back, and what better way to do that than with the classic story of the Christmas Carol. However, it wouldn't be me to tell you the original, simple version, no. It has to be amazing, it has to be out of the ordinary (but still meaningful), crazy, unexpected, over the Ooooo-factor, it has to be…Regular

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**_A/N: Hello viewers, Blue here. [Sigh] it's good to be back and there's so much I have to tell you… *static, signal interference* Good Evening, Darlings. I know you're expecting Blue to be here but she seems to be…tied up at the moment. Don't worry dearies, the story will be carry on. After all, you couldn't celebrate the holidays without a little…red..._**

* * *

**_A Regular Christmas Carol_**

**Prelude:**

_Dead On The Fourth_

It was your normal, average evening, down in the underworld. The forever moon was shining dimly. The lukewarm wind was making the dead oak trees rustle a bit. The cravens [1] were crowing their usual peculiar songs. [Sigh] Yeah, it was your average night down here which was way better than the steaming hot temperatures up on the surface world; it being summer and all

"Uh, why couldn't someone die in Australia so I wouldn't have to spend my day in the Northern Hemisphere? Blasted heat wave" Death said to himself while he was driving home on his motorbike "Well, at least I have an hour before my next reaping so I have a little bit of time to relax"

When Death pulled up to his mansion, it was nine-thirty and the house was pitch black 'Hm, wife must be home' Death thought to himself as he opened the front door and walked inside. That's when he heard from upstairs

"Is that you honey?" It was Death's wife, Hazel [2]. She had just came from Thomas's room and was going to the kitchen to get herself a light snack

"Yes, it's me hun" Death replied. When Death's wife made it down the stairs, she greeted her husband with a kiss on the cheek "It's good to see you too, dear"

"So, how was your day?" Hazel asked him

"Nothing much, just your usual cliental" Death said while following his wife into the kitchen "dying from car accidents (TWD's) [3], shootings, food poisoning, suicide…"

"That sounds nice, dear" Hazel said while rummaging through the refrigerator

"…but it was mostly people who died from heatstroke which I'm not surprised. It was hot as blazes up there today" Death opened the lid of one of the pans that was on the stove and was glad to see that his wife made devil reef crab cakes for dinner

"You're telling me. It got so bad that we actually felt it down here too" Death's wife said while she put all the ingredients she got from the fridge onto the kitchen table. Meanwhile, Death was looking for a hamburger bun so he could eat his crab cake with one hand "And it didn't help that my boss really piled on the paperwork today. It's so stressful working for real estate agents"

Hazel started washing and placing different types of foliage into a dark blue bowl and topped it with diced pieces of the crab and some leftover eyes that were in the refrigerator

"Well, I'm just glad that I finally got Thomas to sleep so I could finally rest a bit and unwind. Can you pass the thousand isles dressing please?" Hazel asked

"I wish I could say that" Death said while passing the dressing over to his wife

"Oh, you still have to go back to work?" Hazel said with a hint of disappointment in her voice. After she was done with her salad, she put everything away and they both made their way to their bedroom

"There's only one more job at the Red Oak's Mental Hospital" Death said when he sat down at his small desk area that was at the rear wall of the bedroom "After that, I should be home around 11:00pm"

"Ok" his wife said while she reclined in their king sized bed; eating her dinner

As Death tried to finish his crab sandwich, he decided to look over his archive that contained clients who have died and will soon parish. While he flipped through the records that were compiled in a huge black book, a small grin formed on his face when he saw who was scheduled to die in a couple of weeks. Just like the next client of the night, he knew this one very well and he couldn't wait to finally end them; not out of animosity, no. Death simply found it to be a little more exciting when he had ties with cliental. Makes the reaping more…interesting

"It's getting terribly hot, dear" Hazel said while taking off her robe so that she was only in her purple silk nightgown "Do you mind closing the window so I could turn on the air-conditioner?"

"In a second, dear" Death was too busy reading the details of his next client's demise that he didn't notice the strange breeze that blew through the open window. Next thing he knew, it blew a single piece of paper from one of the files and it was whisked away; out of the window

"Darn it" Death exclaimed when he tried to grab the paper and missed

Knowing the risks of having any piece of information on a client get into the wrong hands; he didn't waste any time and took action. He first teleported himself so he was in the front lawn. Once the paper was in his sights, he hopped onto his motorbike and chased after it

After a lot of precious time was wasted trying to snatch that document, he was starting to get exhausted. However, he was finally gaining on it

"[Groan] Slippery bugger" Death said after another failed attempt "This is starting to get quite annoying" With that, he tried one more time to grab that vital piece of paper. However, as Death was reaching, his foot lifted up and switched gears on him, but not just any gear. The seventh gear. As a result, a swirling green portal appeared in front of him; sending him and the paper through an unearthly vortex

Meanwhile back at the mansion, Death's wife put her empty bowl on the nightstand next to her and walked to her husband's desk

"I told him to shut the window" she said as she closed the window then turned on the AC

~* { )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( } *~

It was awfully humid in the town of Maples [4], to the point where the majority of its populace was inside; glued to a fan/air-conditioner. There were even certain areas that were experiencing electrical power outages because they were using too much power to keep themselves cool; leaving them no choice but to leave the windows open to let that dry breeze in

Along the hot currents of the wind, a mysterious green portal appeared in the night sky; only for a split second (not enough time for people to notice). Even though its appearance was short and only lasted an instant, it left behind alone piece of paper flying over the quiet town below. It twisted and turned; going through alleyways and over roofs until it floated by an old building on top of a small hill. This building was the Red Oak's Mental Hospital

It was a very modest structure; only having three floors and thirty-five rooms. There really wasn't anything extraordinary about it or its staff; only that it was there serving one purpose and that was to simply eliminate insanity

Within the confines of it walls, on the first floor, last door on the left resided a patient that has been there for thirteen years. Not that many people knew him here, nor did anyone want to. After all, he was a psycho maniac that was charged for attempted murder and rape. Even after the first five years, the jail didn't want to hold him because he was too crazy so he was sent here. Hence is why he didn't socialize, he didn't utter a single word, he didn't even leave his room when he had the opportunity to walk around or even go outside to the Zen Garden in the back of the building. He just sat alone in his room; solitary as an oyster

The only time when you heard anything from that room was when the nurse came to give him his medicine or food or when he would have that one visitor come. Even he was baffled that out of everyone he knew, it would be her that would come to see him…after everything he did to her

But recently, she hasn't been coming lately so like every night, he was standing by the barred window in his room; staring at the cityscape with his bloodshot eyes. At first, he would stare; wishing to be let out of this prison they called a hospital but later in the years, hope had deserted him and all that was left in that hallow shell were old memories…memories of a time before things got…crazy

A smile almost crept onto his face as he remembered playing with 'The Power', seeing Fist Pump, forming their own band, beating The Hammer, taking care of those cool baby ducks, watching Carter and Briggs…those were the good old days. But that was eighteen years ago

Now, things have changed and everyone he held close was now out of his reach

**~Flashback~**

_"You wanted me to change, right? Leave my old self behind, huh?" His victim was already tied to a chair; fearing for his life. Why shouldn't he be? After all, someone he hadn't seen in years was now trying to kill him "Well, I finally took your advise and boy do I feel great. I'm practically reborn" The guy in the chair got slashed in the stomach with a knife. It wasn't deep but blood started to drip nonetheless "What's wrong? Don't you like what you see? I thought you would be so proud of me" The person with the knife could hardly contain his laughter as he continued to slash his helpless victim in the chair_

_"Why are you doing this? All I wanted was for us to move up the ladder together. You're the one that messed everything up"_

_"__Bullshit!" The one with the knife swiped his weapon like he was delivering an uppercut to his victim's face. This cause a cut to form on the guy's left eye "__Ever since that promotion, you never thought about me. You didn't give a rat's ass about me. I was nothing but a disease-ridden rodent to you" The one in chair then had the knife jabbed into his left arm so deep that it almost got stuck into the wooden chair behind him "__It was you that casted our friendship out the window" The knife was yanked out and his victim whined in pain "You may be willing to have this bond be broken between us but I'm not" The one with the knife had his blade at his victim's neck, taunting him while pressing it ever so closely to his skin "Not before you feel the same pain I felt" That's when the gloves were off. He just went to town on this guy and started slashing every part of his victim's body that wasn't retains by ropes__ "Hahaha. Bros forever, right? Or was that until death parts us!" _

_"Please…you don't have to do this" his victim managed to say_

_"__But I want to" The victim all of the sudden felt a sharp pain shot to his left leg as the knife was jabbed and twisted into his thigh "__Consider this as a farewell gift from your bestfriend"_

**~End Flashback~**

Every stroke, every cut, scarred itself into his memory. Sometimes he could still see the blood stain his furry hands but strangely enough, he never regretted it. Sure now, he doesn't hate his bestfriend with every fiber of his being anymore but he will never forget the rush he felt; stabbing him repeatedly. What a release that was, finally letting his anger out on him; making him feel the pain he felt all those years he left him behind. He even felt pleasure when his dreams dared to haunt him and tried to make him feel guilty. He felt no such remorse. He would feel nothing but adrenaline running through his veins like it was happening all over again

'[Sigh] I wonder how Morde-dipstick is doing now?'

***Knock Knock***

"Mr. Salyers? Time to take your medicine" said one of the nurses

He didn't flinch as he stayed in his spot by the window. He was too busy trying to ignore her

"Mr. Salyers?"

At that moment, the paper that was soaring through the air an hour ago finally came to a halt. Somehow, it made its way through the bars and it landed on the raccoon's head. No one in the room noticed this because the paper couldn't be seen by mortals. However, in an instant, the paper fused into the raccoon's head. It was then, that all of the contents that was in that document were now in his brain. To the nocturnal mammal, this read to him as a vision so vivid that he could taste the smoke in the air for a second

The room was silent as the raccoon's thoughts raced until suddenly he jetted for the door without warning. Unfortunately for him, the nurse caught him and was trying to retrain him

"Susan, Derek, I need you!" the nurse called out

Two people, also dressed in white medical garb, came rushing into the room. Susan easily put her great size to good use and got the raging raccoon off of her fellow co-worker. She quickly slammed him down on his bed and held him there while Derek pulled out a needle

Derek didn't waste any time and stuck the needle into the raccoon's arm. Little did Derek know was that he gave the him the wrong dosage and the raccoon passed out almost immediately

"Thanks guys" The first nurse said as she tried to fix her hair "I really thought he was trying to kill me"

"I wonder what got him so jittery? He's haven't been like this since the first six months he was sent here" Derek said

While the two were talking, Susan stood there silent as she stood over the raccoon's body; examining it

"How did you let him get the best of you, Clara? He's only this tall" Derek continued; laughing a bit

"What? If you were in my shoes, you probably would have been calling for help too"

"As if. I-" Before he could finish his sentence, Susan covered his mouth. Her eyes never left the body that was motionless on the mattress as she press her middle and index finger (of her other hand) on the raccoon's neck. The room was silent for a moment until Susan said

"Something is wrong"

~* {)( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )(} *~

"Come on, we're losing him…where's that defibrillator?!"

When Susan figured out that the raccoon's pulse was slowing down at an alarming rate. She alerted the medics down the hall and they rushed him into their emergency room. While the nurses were preparing him for the doctor, Susan updated the doctor on the situation at hand

"What? Derek should know not to give a human dosage to a raccoon" the doctor said in frustration "Especially for one his size"

After the patient was hooked up to an IV, all you could hear were the sounds of the defibrillator trying to gain a pulse from the motionless raccoon

"Come on, clear" nothing "Dammit, clear" nothing

The doctor kept on going even when it seemed bleak, until finally, a pulse read on the monitor

"Phew, he's stabilized" the doctor said after wiping his face with his sleeve "All we need to do now is let him get some rest and-"

And without warning, the raccoon sat up from the gurney full of energy. And just like before, he tried to escape the building but the nurses held him down again

"Let go of me!" That's when a laugh echoed in the room "You think this is funny?" The raccoon tried again to get out of the gurney but the nurses still held him down; barely because he was getting more difficult to retain the more he got angry "Stop laughing at me if you don't want to rip your eyes out!"

"What is he talking about?" One of the nurses said confused because like the other people that were in the room, she didn't hear a laugh; just this crazy patient yelling

The strange laugher filled the room one more time and that's when the raccoon saw that the people in the room weren't snickering

'Then where-?'

"Hello…Rigby. It's been a while"

"What, what are you doing here?" Even though Rigby seen Death many times in the past, he was on edge for some reason. After all, he hadn't seen him in eight years

"Nothing much" Death said in a taunting manner "I just happen to know that you have something of mine"

"What are you talking about?"

"There is important information in that little head of yours, Rigby" Death started to swing his scythe like a pendulum "And I can't have you leaking it out…so"

"Oh my God, get me out of here!" Rigby desperately tried to get loose but nurses continued to retain him. It was growing more difficult the more he struggled so the nurses had no choice but to strap him down onto the gurney "Let me go! Can't you see he's trying to take me from this world!?"

Actually they couldn't. The doctor and nurses in the room couldn't see Death standing there so all this time, they thought Rigby was talking to himself

"I'm not going to kill you. After all, it's against reaper policy to reap a soul prematurely unless deals and wagers are made. However, in your case, why do that when all I have to do is wait-"

"Huh?" Rigby said confused but still scared

"Until 20XX" that was this year "Jun 23rd-" that was today

"What? No!" Rigby continued to struggle out of the emergency room but it was pointless. He was strapped up tight

"-at 10:50pm-" that was a minute from now

"Get me out of here!"

"-for a medical accident" when Death spoke those words, Rigby was somehow able to get his left arm free. However, in the process of doing that, his hand flipped a tray that had a bunch of scalpels and other instruments the doctor was going to use. The surgical tools went airborne for a second then one by one they descended

The first one cut the already frayed IV machine's wire; causing it to stop working. The second, third, and fourth one found its way in Rigby's right eyes, leg, and forearm; causing him to scream in pain. There were some other blades that grazed his stomach and chest but those couldn't compare to the fresh stab wounds he just received on his scrawny limbs

"No, I can't die just yet!" Rigby screamed to the top of his lungs. The nurses at this time were trying not to panic at what they just saw and were trying to find something to dress his wounds "I still need to-" as soon as he was about to utter those words, the last tool which was a pair of shears fell straight down and stabbed him right in the throat

It was sickening, listening to him gasping for air; still struggling to get free. But soon he's actions slowed and his breathing became faint and with his last bloody breath, the stubborn raccoon managed to say with an evil smile "tell him…fourth"

Even though the doctors tried to do all that they could, because of the broken IV machine and his fatal stab wounds being too numerous, Rigby died…right on schedule

**~Five Days Later~**

To many people's delight, it was a cloudy day in the town of Twin Peaks. It was a moderate seventy-seven degrees and the sun wasn't beating down as severely like the last few days. However, not everyone could enjoy this good weather

Up on Summerset Drive, there were a few people gathering; dressed in their finest black attire. Some had flowers and others had empty hands full of grief. A few felt sadness and regret while the rest just felt pity for this sorrowful creature

When the clock struck noon, all of the mourners headed for a specific spot on a grassy hill. The one's leading the crowd were Rigby's parents. His mother was wiping her eyes; still trying to keep strong while her husband put his arm around her shoulder; trying to comfort her

Behind them were Skips, Pops, and surprisingly Benson who took time out of his busy schedule for this event. Pops being the one of the most sorrowful couldn't stop crying. He had already lost his father a year ago and now someone else passed away too? He almost couldn't take it. Skips and Benson, on the other hand, didn't exactly feel sorry for the deceased raccoon; especially after the little episode he went through seven years ago. However, they did feel disappointed that he wasn't able to get his life together before he died

Next was Muscle Man and Fives. Even though Muscle Man was still mad at Rigby for what he did, he was still a friend, after all. Plus, Fives would never forgive him if he didn't come so to help him keep his conflicting emotions in check, he brought Starla along. However, Fives, like Pops, was crying up a storm but surprisingly it wasn't for the death of his good friend Rigby, no. He just didn't like funerals in general. It always brought off a sad vibe that he always got consumed in. But deep down, Rigby was still his friend and it made him all the more curious as to why and how he went totally insane

Follow the three was CJ. Even though she didn't know him that well, she was standing in for two of her friends that couldn't come; one was terribly sick and the other was holding too much resentment to attend

In the rear of the mass of people was his loving brother, Don. His steps were slow and he was lagging behind but he didn't care. All that occupied his mind was his dear older brother that lay dead in his arms [5]. Even when everyone had made it to the freshly dug grave, Don was still a few yards behind; taking his time. Every step he made, his heart clenched more because he knew that when he made it to that crane, he would have to let Rigby out of his embrace

'If only I was there. Then maybe…' Don couldn't help but blame himself because for the last fifteen years he had been in Japan because his job transferred him there. Sure he would try to visit during the holidays but lately airfare has been skyrocketing to the point where it was getting too expense to travel. Even traveling here, so unexpectedly, was going to land him in the shit later but that didn't matter to him now, only his brother

He was only a few feet away now and everyone watched as he carried the small coffin up the hill. As long as everyone had known Don, he always had a smile on his face and had this sunny disposition about him that was contagious. Seeing him like this, shadowed with so much misery and pain, even had CJ turning for a second to hide a lone tear that threatened to escape. She quickly wiped it away and hid her eyes under her hat

When he finally made it to the top of the hill, he passed the small crowd and stood inches from the grave. He knew what he had to do but he only clutched the box tighter like his life depended on it. This was his brother, his idol, his best friend and now he had to let him go? That's like trying to ask him to stop breathing

His dad, who was standing next to him, saw the pain in his son's red bloodshot eyes and put his hand on his shoulder. He didn't say a word but his eyes looked as if to say 'I'm here for you, son'

Don looked at his father and then at the coffin and gave it one last squeeze as if he was giving his brother sugar for the last time. After that, he slowly put the wooden box on the harness above the grave. It took every ounce of his strength to release every finger he had on the coffin. Even after Rigby was secure in to the harness, one final tear escaped his eyes and it burned as it fell down his cheek

'Goodbye, Brother' Don thought as everyone watched the crane lower the coffin into the ground. It was too much for Don to watch them pour the dirt on his brother body that he found himself crying on his father's shoulder...

After the burial, the mourners left at their own separate times; leaving flowers, condolences, and guilt at the tombstone. And eventually, the graveyard was vacant once again...leaving this story to start with Rigby being dead to begin with

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**A/N: I know, something totally different than what I usually write. I even wrote it in third-person POV, which is surprising pretty hard. Well, it can't be helped; especially with Scarlet taking the reins now. You know how alter egos are**

**"Don't worry, Blue. Things get so much better, came the next chapter"**

**"Why do I feel like they aren't" **

**[Scarlet laughs]**

**[1] Cravens= A mix between a Crow and a Raven**

**[2] Hazel= Yeah, I don't know Death's wife's name but that's where we improvise **

**[3] TWD= Texting While Driving (which is what you should never do, ladies and gentlemen)**

**[4] Maples= A town, two cities west of Twin Peaks **

**[5] Yeah, Rigby is that small that instead of four people carrying him (like you would do in a standard funeral) you really only need one**


	2. Ch 1: Sick Of You

**_A/N: THE OWNERSHIP OF REGULAR SHOW IS AS UNOBTAINABLE TO ME AS HELL IS TO ICE WATER_**

_**P.S. Good Evening Darlings. Intense chapter wasn't it. After all, Rigby was stabbed to death in a hospital of all places and he was kept from disclosing some important information. I bet you're wondering what that was. Well, you'll have to wait for chapter 2 for that one. But for those that were wondering why two certain people weren't at the funeral, then the answer is done below**_

_**NOTE: There will be a lot of Flashbacking**_

_**WARNING:**__** THIS IS WHERE MOST OF THE VIOLENCE AND THE RAPE WILL HAPPEN. So if you could get through this, you'll have no problem with the rest of story **_

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**_A Regular Christmas Carol_**

**Chapter 1:**

_Sick of You_

**Eileen POV: Next Day**

It was dark and the sun had yet to rise. The street lights were still on and not that many people were up and about yet. So besides the occasional cars that would pass by, it was relatively quiet as I walked through the winding pathways

Each step I made echoed, every breath resonated in the still air, and every heartbeat amplified the closer I got to my destination. Normally, fear and anxiety would have people feeling this way; especially since I was walking through a spooky graveyard so early in the morning. However, fear had no room to occupy my mind. How could it when hope and everything that I consider precious had already been taken from me

I kept my slow steady pace as I wondered through the dirt trails until my flashlight shined on a tombstone newly adorned with floral decorations. A sharp pain filled in my chest when I looked closer at it, but I ignored it while I brushed some of the flowers aside to read the headstone

'So this is what you've been reduce to, huh Rigby?' I thought as I rested myself by sitting on my calves. The grass was cool and it helped my aching legs so I sat still and tried to do the impossible…control my breathing. But the more I looked at the grave, the more my chest fired up. It was getting to the point that I couldn't sit up anymore and I was forced into another couching fit

My hands gripped the grass as I tried to ride out this pain that was too familiar to me, but it stopped eventually and I looked up at the tombstone one more time; this time with heated eyes

At this moment I thought for sure that I was finally going to feel what I was supposed to feel. The reasoning was there, in the air that was escaping me, in this pain that will never go away, in the scars he left behind but like every other time before, rationality had been wiped away from my mind and I found the anger burning inside of me dissipate once again

I took a deep breath and looked to my right. On the ground, on top of the freshly dug soil were the flowers I brought. They were irises, three white irises I grew as houseplants. They started to sway as a cold wind started to blow and that's when I looked up at the sky

'Better get moving'

I dug a little hole, next to the tombstone. When it was deep enough, I took my flowers out of the pot and placed them in the hole. I patted the ground around it a couple of times and sat up. I found myself staring at the headstone again; engraving the imagine in my mind because I knew that this was going to be the last time that I ever visit this place

**~Vocal Flashbacks [1]~**

_'__Mordecai, this isn't funny. You know how I am with closed spaces' Rigby_

_ '__Sorry dude, but the rules say seven minutes' Mordecai_

_ '__Fuck that, get me out of here!' Rigby_

_ '__No can do. A dare is a dare' Mordecai_

_ '__You asshole __**[Breathing hard]' **__Rigby_

_ '__Rigby, just calm down. Breathe' Me_

_ '__How can I calm down when I'm dying in here!' Rigby_

_ '__You're not going to die. We're just in a closet, no big deal' Me_

_ '__No big deal? How is being locked in a closet no big deal? Who knows how long it'll take for the air to be gone in here' Rigby_

_ '__I highly doubt that we'll die from the lack of oxygen, Rigby. Just keep cool and seven minutes will go by like that, I promise' Me_

_ '__How could I-' Rigby_

_ '__Sh-sh-sh-shush. Stop thinking about it and relax…Breathe' Me_

_**[Breathing Noises]**_

_ '__That's it. Just pretend that it's bedtime and you're sleeping on your nice comfortable trampoline…Do you see it?' Me_

_ '__Not really...I think I might need a little help' Rigby_

**_[Unknown Movements]_**

_ '__Um, R-rigby' Me_

_ '__Shhh, this is helping' Rigby _

_ '__I don't hear any making-out going on in there' Mordecai_

_ '__Go choke on a popsicle' Rigby _

**~End Vocal Flashback~**

I mentally slapped myself because I found myself chuckling at that memory **'**Why am I even thinking about that? The last thing I need is for him to get to me…he already did that once'

That's when my thoughts were interrupted by the sound of thunder and not too long after that, one drop fell on my nose. I quickly started to gather the things I brought and stood to my feet. After all, I wasn't even supposed to be out here. So I pulled out the umbrella that was strapped to my back and opened it up. Just in time too because a few seconds later, it started to come down hard

I took one last glance at what I was leaving behind and I let out a sigh while adjusting the medical mask that rested on my face. After that, I took my leave of this dreary cemetery

~* {)( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )(} *~

When I got home it was 5:30am. After I locked the front door, I put the things I brought by the window to dry then went straight to kitchen. Despite how warm summer showers were suppose to be, I was freezing and I wanted to make some tea to warm me up

As I waited for the water to get hot in the microwave, I found my hands fiddling with the box of teabags

**~Vocal Flashback~**

_'__Uck, tea?!' Rigby_

_ '__Yes, tea' Me_

_ '__Uhhh, but I hate tea' Rigby_

_ '__But it'll help with this nasty cold of yours. Besides, I put a few squirts of honey in it to make it taste better' Me_

**~End Vocal Flashback~**

***Ding***

I was brought back from my thoughts when I heard the microwave go off. I was about to pull a teabag from the box I was holding but I was surprised to find the whole box crumbled into a ball in my hands. A slight sting spread through my hands as a faint redness disappeared from them

"I really didn't feel like tea anyway" I said disappointed at my subconscious act

I walked out of the kitchen and went back into the living room. I could feel that I was still a bit tense so I thought I would unwind by lying down on the couch. Maybe I could get two hours of sleep in so I won't fall asleep at the computer when I log into work...

Despite not sleeping at all last night, slumber wouldn't take me; even after walking two miles to the cemetery and back. So I thought I would at least rest my eyes and listen to some music. I turned on the radio and tried to find a station but no matter what was on, I just wound up changing it

_[2] Should have known these walls would cave in_

_Should've never left my heart there on the line_

_Cause when the shit hit the fan, all we ever had_

_Ended up lost in the fire_

_Now nothing's saved, nothing's gain, was it all in vain?_

_Cause I'm standing in the eye of the storm_

_Everything I've known, is blowing away_

**~~~~~~~~~~~CHANGE~~~~~~~~~~~**

_[3] Trying your best not to let yourself grow cold, so cold_

_Now you think about the things you thought you wanted to say_

_But when you open your mouth it don't come out that way_

_Are you really gonna throw your heart away?_

_Away, away…_

_Everybody's hurt somebody before_

_Everybody's been hurt by somebody before_

_You can change, but you'll always come back for more_

_It's a game, and we're all just victims of love_

**~~~~~~~~CHANGE~~~~~~~~**

_[4] I tried so hard to hate you_

_But it only makes things worse_

_I only end up hating myself_

_And as my hatred grows, so do the lies_

_It's hard to face the truth sometimes_

_God, I feel so useless_

_God, I hate myself, when I try to get over you_

_I hate myself, will I ever get over you…_

_Sometimes it hurts, so much_

_To lose the one you love_

**~~~~~~CHANGE~~~~~~**

_[5] Found a photo of our memory, that picture was hiding_

_Kind of like finding a treasure chest, with no treasure inside it_

_Have you noticed the bad memories, seem to linger the longest_

_I remember the fights and the dreams, those are the ones I wanted_

_Now all I could say is…_

_I guess I should have took more picture_

_Had I known that I wouldn't be with you today_

_I really would have took more pictures_

_Had I known you were going_

_Going away _

_Away_

**~~~~~CHANGE~~~~~**

"Ahhh, is there anything happy on this radio!" I screamed. I changed the station one more time and…

_[6] My first love broke my heart for the first time_

_And I was like_

_Baby, baby, baby, Ohh_

_^^^^^^^^^^**static**^^^^^^^^^^_

I sat in the room in silence; looking away from the broken radio across the room. In doing so, I was looking in the direction of my two bookshelves by my computer

'Maybe something good to read will calm my nerves'

So I went to the bookshelf and started to browse through the different titles until one fell out. It was my photo album and it was opened to two photos. The one on the left was of Rigby and me when Muscle Man and Starla invited us to go skating at the Rink O' Rama for their one year anniversary. He was so unstable that he was practically using me as a life line. The one on the right was of Rigby and me when Margaret took a sneak snapshot of us in the closet; seven minutes in heaven. It was nothing much; just me and Rigby sleep with his tail around me. It was the only way that I could get him to calm down from being locked in there...

I picked up the book and touched the picture on the right. As I was engulf in it, my ears happened to hear from across the room, the radio playing…barely

_[7]…over the heartache that they say_

_Never completely goes away…_

_No I don't hate you, don't want to fight you_

_Know I'll always love you, but right now I just don't like you_

_No I don't hate you, don't want to fight you_

_Know I'll always love you, but right now I just don't like you _

_Cause you took this too far…_

_^^^^^^^^^**static**^^^^^^^^^_

_What happened to us?_

_^^^^^^^**static**^^^^^^^_

_What happened to us?_

_****__^^^^^^^**static**^^^^^^^_

_And know that I don't hate you_

_And know that I don't want to fight you_

_And know that'll always love you_

_But right now I just don't…_

**___^^^^^^^_****static**^^^^^^^

The radio was silence once again; not by my blind rage but by it short circuiting. After that, all I heard was the scrapbook falling out of my hands and onto the floor. Even though the book was gone from my hands, my body was still frozen in place as if it was still hold it; hold onto the memories, the past…when things were still…

I felt my legs get weak as I fell to my knees. I was face to face with the book again as it displayed more photos like when we went to BOX or when we had our first TGI Tuesday Party. Just looking at them made my eyes well up with tears while I started to cough again

This time it took longer to stop and when I did, I took off my mask and saw blood on it

"I hate- I hate-" I was so close to saying it but the word wouldn't come out. It was like my body wouldn't allow me to even otter out those words I ached so much to say so instead I yelled "Ahhh! I hate this!" I grabbed the book and throw it across the room "While you were alive, you were always on my mind and now that you're dead you still haunt my thoughts…even now I could still feel your knife gliding across my skin…"

**~Flashback~**

_After Mordecai got promoted and he and Rigby had the biggest fight ever, Rigby had never been the same. Sure Rigby started to talk to me a lot more and we even dated for a while but I could tell that he was still holding onto resentment. I tried to get him to talk to me about it but he would simply tell me to drop it then he would leave. It broke my heart to see him hurting like this but it hurt even more that I couldn't do anything about it; not with him putting walls around himself_

_However, despite how distant Rigby got, he always found himself coming back to the coffee shop. Even though I didn't work there anymore, I would still go there to get my morning coffee. And it just so happened that one day when we saw each other there, he asked me to go to the movies with him. Of course I was overjoyed by this and said 'yes'_

_The rest of the day, my mind was on nothing but what was to come. Even focusing was becoming an issue when I was working in the office. But somehow I got everything done efficiently and with ten minutes to spare so I raced home and stormed my closet for something good to wear. In the end, I wound up picking a purple blouse and a jean skirt_

_After I took a shower, I had an hour and a half to kill before we would head off to the movie theater so I thought, why not surprise him and come early. I was pretty bored so I found no harm in visiting him prematurely so I hopped into my car and drove to the park _

_When I pulled up in the driveway, I started to second guess my actions. After all, he may not be ready yet but I was already here and I didn't want to drive back home to have to drive back here again. Besides, I was too excited that I was about to hang out with Rigby again that I didn't notice how creepy the house looked without its lights on until I knocked on the door_

_Surprisingly, the door just opened by itself and I was left looking at a gloomy hallway_

_ "__He must be out doing something, which would explain why it's so dark in here. But still, he shouldn't forget to lock his front door" I said to myself. I was about to close the door and go back to my car when I happen to hear a strange noise. I froze in my tracks just to see if I could hear that noise again because I was uncertain whether it a scream or not. And sure enough, the sound resonated in my ears and it put me in a panic_

_I ran into the house and went straight upstairs because whatever I heard, it sounded like it was in pain and I feared the worst. When I was on the second floor, I tip-toed across the hall as I grabbed the small can of mace I had in my pocketbook_

_ "__Rigby?" I whispered. I opened the first door to my right (Mordecai's Office) and it was empty "Rigby, are you there?" I opened up another one on the left this time (Bathroom). It was also empty "Rigby?" I tried the last door on the right and I was horrified at what my eyes were taking in. In Rigby's room, there was blood everywhere. On the floor, on the walls, on the person tied to a chair in the middle of the room..._

_I slowly walked to the figure and paused when it let out a moan that would chill anyone's spine. Despite how scared I was right now, I continued forward to see who this figure was. When looked at it's anterior and I then recognized this poor soul to be Mordecai_

_ "__Oh my God, Mordecai!" I patted his bloody face to see if he would wake up "Please be ok. Please don't be dead. Mordecai" He started to come to…barely_

_ "__Eileen? Please…get out of here…while you still can" he managed to say before he passed out again_

_I felt like I was in my own horror film; I was so scared. However, I wasn't going to leave Mordecai here to die so I got out my cell phone, but before I could dial the number to the police, I heard a banging on the door across the room. I was so petrified that I couldn't even move. I just stared at the door, afraid to go near it…that was until I heard_

_ "__Eileen…is that you?" It was a faint whisper but I recognized immediately_

_"__Rigby?" I ran to the other room across the hall (Pop's Room) and at first I didn't see anyone until I happened to look to my right and I saw Rigby leaning on a night dresser. His fur was bloody and he was breathing hard like he was hurt "Rigby!" I rushed to his aid "What happened?" That's when he embraced me. I was surprised at first but I relaxed in his arms and returned his hug "It's ok Rigby. This nightmare will be over soon. We just need to get you and Mordecai to safety before…" Before I could finish my sentence, Rigby held me tighter and said in almost a whisper_

_ "__Eileen, why did you come an hour early?" As strange as that question was, I answered it_

_ "__Because, I wanted to see you. We barely get to hang out anymore and I guess I was so excited that I couldn't wait"_

_ "__Aw, you shouldn't have" He said stroking my hair_

_ "__Um, Rigby, I really think that we should get out of here before something bad happens" His hand that was stroking my hair slowly made it down my back. But instead of feeling his tender touch, I started to feel a sharp pain as his began to claw up and down my spine_

_ "__No really, you really shouldn't have" he said with somber tone in his voice. That's when I started to question what was really going on _

_ "__Rigby-?" Rigby cut me off by slamming me into the door in one quick motion_

_"__I wasn't expecting you to come so early. I didn't even get a chance to get myself ready for our little date. But I guess its ok. It was quite selfish of me to leave you out of this" That's when I felt myself being moved from the door to a fluffy mattress "But since you're here and you're so eager to know what's going on…" I was going to try to lift myself up but that's when I noticed that my hands were tied. When he did it, I don't know, but all I know was that I was growing more frightened by the second_

_I saw him grin as his hands glided down my arms until they reached my tied wrists. I started to put two and two together when he positioned my wrists over my head so I started to struggle because I really thought that he was going to hurt me. However, he managed to loop my wrists to a bed post_

_"__Rigby" I said as I looked at my trapped wrists; trying desperately to release myself. After I saw that it was useless, I looked back at Rigby and what I saw had my hair standing on end. Rigby had a huge evil smile on his face as he held a small switch blade in his hands "Rigby! What what-?" I couldn't possibly form a sentence because I was in so much fear of what he was aiming to do with that knife. I watched as he popped every button off my shirt with his knife; growing more fearful the more he got closer to my neck. As he was working on my shirt he said _

_"__It's a shame. This would be more enjoyable if you actually loved me"_

_"__What? What are you talking about?" I felt so hurt hearing him say that. He was the one that has been pushing me away. I would seriously marry him and bare his children if he asked_

_"__No you don't" He said calmly "See, you're even struggling to get away from me right now"_

_"__Rigby, you just tried to kill someone and-" before I could finish, he got to the last button and his knife was at my neck. The cold blade rested under my chin as he proceeded to remove my shirt_

_"__Why are you so afraid, Eileen? After all, you never hurt me, Mordecai did. Mordecai left me high and dry while you stood by me; always caring for my well-being. It always made me wonder why you were always with me" Rigby pulled the knife from my neck and used it to cut my bra in half. When he discarded that article of clothing, the small amount of kindness I saw in his eyes faded and his face formed a frown as he looked at his knife "I pondered for years on this and it hurt me to no end when I finally figured it out, but it made sense. No sane person would fall in love with a person like me" He placed his hand on my chest and slowly trailed it down my stomach and slipped it off to my left like he was wiping something. After that, the hand that held the knife lowered and the blade was centimeters from my chest_

_"__What are you talking about? Why wouldn't you think that I love you?" I asked half hurt, half in a panic_

_"__Remember when I got turned into a were-skunk? It must have been so funny, seeing me suffer like that. But it's ok. I forgive you because now I understand you" That's when he pressed the knife down into my chest and drew it ever so slowly across my skin. I tried not to scream because something told me that it would anger him farther and he would go even deeper but the pain was too much and I released an involuntary hiss of discomfort_

_"__Eileen, I want you to be open and honest with me. So it's ok if you hate me. It's ok if you want to shout or curse my name out. So don't repress your feelings" As kind as he sounded, his hands weren't. He applied more pressure to his knife as he trailed the blade onto my stomach. That forced a shriek out of me that I never thought in a million year Rigby would cause_

_"__Yes, Eileen. Let it out. Let me hear you scream" He said as he made one final swipe off the side of my stomach as if to mark that he was finished with his work. I felt the tears run down my face because my torso still stung from where his knife drew on it. However, I managed to ask him_

_"__Rigby, why are you doing this?" I didn't get an answer instead he planted a kiss on my lips. My mind was all over the place to enjoy that kiss. I was focused on the pain I felt in my chest, my wrists that were bounding me to this situation and the budge that poke at my nether regions. My eyes widen when I felt that last part and I was scared for my well-being_

_When he was done, I was sure that my lips were bruised. Rigby smiled at me and quickly flipped me over so that I was on my stomach. I heard fabric tearing and soon my skirt and panties were off_

_"__Rigby, please no. Please don't do what I think you're going to do" I begged but my pleas fell on deaf ears_

_"Aw, y__ou're so cute when you're underneath me…coming apart at the seams, begging, sweating. Or is that blood"_

_ "__Ahhhh!"_

**_|\\\\\\\\\\\\|_**

_After he broke my hymen and forcefully pounded into me a couple of times, I blacked out from the sheer pain and exhaustion. It felt like he was going to plow through my uterus and pierce through to my stomach; it hurt so much. Plus having to deal with the marks he left on my stomach and back; I was surprised that I didn't die. Instead, I found my next waking moment in a bright hospital_

_I was told that I was found naked in a bloody heap; wrapped in white sheets on Pops bed. In the condition I was in, the doctor said I was lucky to still be alive because of the amount of blood I lost_

**~End Flashback~**

"Lucky to be alive he says. With all of this pain I'm experiencing now, I would have rather died on that bed that very night"

**~Flashback~**

_Six months later, it was the dead of winter. My wounds had healed from that dreadful incident but the scars were still there; inside and out. Co-workers would tell me that I wasn't as cheery as I use to be, others would say that was unstable…it was not until CJ and I met one day that things began to turn around a bit. She heard from Mordecai what happened to me and felt pity. Sure I thought it was annoying at first because I barely even knew her but everything changed that fateful night when I had to be rushed to the hospital for simply catching cold... _

_After playing twenty questions with the doctor, and a few days testing, I figured out that I had AIDS. If there was ever a time to want to feel self-pity, that would be it, but no. All I felt was hatred because there was only one person I could have gotten this from, and that was Rigby_

**~End Flashback~**

'After months of rehashing that painful incident, I thought after a while, I would eventually be able to repress it and move on. After all, at the time, the only thing that was plaguing me was the scars and the news from the doctors saying that I couldn't have kids [8]. But after hearing that I now had an STD, planted another reminder; another reason for me to hate him'

**~Flashback~**

_CJ was on me like white on rice after that. I didn't know why. Maybe because Mordecai kept pushing her away so she thought a friendship with me was the next best thing…I don't know. Either way, I started to accept her companionship and soon some of the mental hardships I was having started to reduced the strain it had on my life_

_Well, that was until I happened to meet Don one December morning at the coffee shop. We had a small conversation on how he was in Japan now and how great that was, and how I worked as a training coordinator in a medical corporation [9] and how boring that was. Even though it wasn't my first choice, it puts food on the table_

_ "__So what brings you here to Twin Peaks" I asked him as I took a sip of my coffee_

_ "__I'm just visiting my family for the holidays" Don said_

_"__That sounds nice" I couldn't even remember the last time I visited my parents. From the past events that happened, it's been hard to talk to anyone, and to have my parents find out? I couldn't plague them with that. It was already driving me to insanity as it is_

_"__That's reminds me. I was going to visit Red Oak's Mental Hospital Christmas morning and I was wondering if you would like to come with me?"_

_"__Oh, you're going to visit all of those people?"_

_"__No, just one…my older brother" Coffee shot out of my mouth, just hearing Don mention him. I felt myself twitching as memories started to flood back into my brain. It took everything I had to keep my outer appearance calm and respond_

_"W__-what? I thought he was in jail?"_

_"He was but it seems to have cause quite a ruckus up there that even they couldn't handle him so they came to the conclusion that he needed professional help. So now, he's in the mental hospital. I feel great that now that I don't need to talk to him behind glass when I visit him now..." Don noticed the blank stare I was giving him but behind that stare was a glimpse of terror and disbelief. I thought I was safe now that he was behind bars but now..."Look. __It's ok, I understand. I just thought that it would be worth asking because he hasn't been the same since I first visited him. I hear that besides me, no one visits him and he's by himself all of the time. Even when I'm there, he wouldn't speak, not a word. It was as if he became a mute or something. I just thought that if he saw someone other than me, he would perk up, is all" He paused and looked at me with pity in his eyes because he could see the anger and the frustration that was raging through my mind_

_"__I've been spending five years trying to forget him and now you want me to go and visit him? How could I after all he has done to me?" I said in a whisper_

_ "__Because he's still a living being. A living being that still needs to be cared about which is why I can't leave him to be alone. He's also my brother so I can't forget about him and cast him away forever…I know he has hurt you and Mordecai. I'm aware of the pain he has caused and I don't approve of it at all. It's so unlike him…which is why I asked you to come with me…because he's lost and I thought you'd be able to help me"_

_I wind up departing from the shop; leaving him with an undecided answer_

**_|\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\|_**

_After talking with CJ, she somehow convinced me to go with Don; saying something about getting some much needed closure. So that Christmas morning, I was picked up by Don and we went to the Red Oak's Mental Hospital_

_After the receptionist told us where to go, we walked down a long hallway. By the time we got to the end of it, I was sweating like a pig_

_ "__I-I don't know if I could do this" I said in a faint whisper_

_"__It's ok, everything will be fine" Don said trying to reassure me. Then he opened the door and made his presence known as he greeted his older brother_

_"__Hey, Rigbone. How's my brother doing? Are the doctors treating you good?" _

_I didn't walk into the room because I couldn't find it in me to set one foot in there. On the other side of that wall was the person I've been resenting for five years; the one that gave me this stupid STD, the one that left me with all of these scars. How could I face him when it was fear and not anger that was prevent me from moving _

_"__Don't be glum, Rigby. I even brought you a visitor, see" Don said then he paused. I guess he was expecting me to be behind him "Excuse me, for a second" he walked out of the room where I was standing and said "Come on, don't be shy. I told you, everything will be fine" _

_He took me by the hand and pulled me into the room. When I looked into the plain white room, there really wasn't that much in there; just a barred window and to my right was the raccoon I grew to despise. He was on his bed, staring at the ceiling; motionless. He didn't even blink. His fur was ragged and darker, if that was even possible. His eyes had a redness to them while the black circles around them were more prominent than normal. In other words, he was a mess_

_The more I looked at him, the more Don's past words echoed in my head. Despite how his words hinted that I should forgive him, only hatred sprung in me. As I looked at him more, I heard myself say_

_"__So, this is what you've been reduced to, huh" I saw his heavy eyelids open wide in shock and disbelief. They slowly looked in my direction and stayed there. I saw the cold expression I was making reflecting back in his eyes. I almost couldn't stand what I was looking at because what I saw was him slowly grinning back at me. It wasn't one of those humble, happy, blissful smiles, no. It was the smile that haunts me to this day. That sick smile he gave me when he was cutting my body_

**_|\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\|_**

_That whole endeavor was the most awkward experience of my life; in spite of the short time we stayed there. It was only two hours but it was the longest two hours ever. The entire time while Don was obliviously talking to Rigby and giving him a Christmas gift, Rigby never paid attention to him. Instead, he was staring at me. It was definitely irritating at first but towards the end, I started thinking about the closure thing CJ was talking about. Especially when I began to visit him on my own later on. Even though it was his fault for half the things I was mad at, I didn't want to be angry for the rest of my life. I didn't want to be happy just to be tripped up when I started to think about him. So for a decade or so years, I made it my priority to visit him as much as I could; just so I could get over him and get on with my life_

_However, regardless of how much afford I put into it, I was always in and out of progress. Some visits I would be acting fine and repressing my emotions would be easy while other times, I would act cold towards him. But none of those moments could compare to the time I visited him in March (this year)_

_It was a cold Saturday Morning and it was just one of those days when I was rushing to the mental hospital to watch another episode of Giants Assault [10]. Ever since I told Rigby about it, he seemed to enjoy watching it. I bet it was for the violence and blood because I always saw a smile creep on his face when he saw someone being eaten or slaughtered. There were even times when he would snicker but that was the closest I could get to getting a sound out of him because like Don, he wouldn't talk to me either_

_I don't know what happened that day to make me snap; an action, a gesture. Either way, it resulted in me leaving so enraged and confused_

_ "__Don't you dare touch me!" My hand stung from the force I applied to it when I slapped him across the face. He stayed paused for a second then turned his head slightly as his hand went to his cheek. Soon, I heard him giggling as he pulled his hand from his face and his eyes looked in my direction_

_ "__You...hurt...me" After not hearing his voice for almost eighteen years, those three words sent shivers down my spine. At the same time, I was livid as it seemed that he enjoyed the fact that I hit him_

_ "__What is wrong with you?" I hit him again because he was smiling and that drove me crazy "Are you that far gone that you don't care about the people you hurt?" I hit him again "Can you honestly say that this feels good?" I grabbed him by both of his shoulders so I was looking dead in his face "What happened to you?" He didn't answer me "Talk to me" He remained silent "After all of these years, you're still holding up these walls and yet you want me to be open and honest" my fingers dug into his skin "to scream out my feelings" My words continued to be fueled by anger as it started to rise in me. I would have crushed his shoulders with the amount of pressure I was putting on them if it wasn't for the sorrow that that was mixed with it "Do you know how much you hurt me that day? Can you imagine the pain I still feel? Can you even fathom what you put me through?" I felt the tears flowing now and it seemed like they would never stop because I was just so frustrated with everything "I trusted you, I loved you and yet…why did you…why-"_

_Rigby still looked at me but with a blank face. The smile was gone and his eyes were hooded by his eyelids, but what I noticed raised my anger to its peak. He put his hand on my wrist to take my hands off his shoulders. Just feeling him touch me, infuriated me and I was ready to slap him again but he caught it this time. He forced both of my wrists in his left hand and he said_

_ "From love, you create openness__" He wiped one of my eyes "From pain, you get honesty" he wiped the other eye "At least I got one of them from you" He let my hands go and I grabbed them where he held them as my mind thought upon his words_

_ "__But was it worth it?"_

**~End Flashback~**

'I never got an answer to that question. As a matter of fact, that was the last time I ever saw him…alive. Sad…I never got the chance to visit him; especially when I was diagnosed with PTB later on [11]. After that, I just got caught up in a furious cycle of cause and effect. I would think of him to the point that I would get sick. I would regret it and feel sorry, feel better then find something else to get mad at then get sick again...' I sat with the bookshelf behind me with my eyes closed as I began to think about everything from then to now and how pointless this was; how I was hurting myself, hating him...

That's when I opened my eyes and looked at the damaged radio again which was where my photo album was

"What happened to us, Rigby?" I said to myself "I remember when I use to get so happy when I saw your face. I remember when we would spend time together, it would never be enough. Now your touch is like acid to my skin and your words are nothing but poison to my ears. I wish I knew why…why our love diminished, why paradise soon turned into a living hell, why I still can't hate you" I felt my eyes getting droopy as my strength was slowly being withdraw from me "Then maybe…" before I could finish my sentence, I felt my vision blurring until I found myself finally drifting to sleep

* * *

**A/N: Seriously? I know in my last story, what I had Eileen go through was pretty sad, but this? **

**Scarlet: Don't worry, it's all for the good of the story**

**Blue: But still, you didn't have to go that far**

**Scarlet: I know**

**Blue: I hate you**

**[1] Vocal Flashback= Unlike my normal flashbacks, this is just the voices. So no images are going to be provided**

**[2] Song used: Hurricane by Theory of a Deadman (1st Verse only)**

**[3] Song used: Victims Of Love by Good Charlotte (Part of 2nd verse and Chorus) **

**[4] Song used: Sometimes It Hurts by Stabbing Westward (2nd verse and one line from Chorus) **

**[5] Song used: Pictures by Ne-Yo (1st Verse and Chorus)**

**[6] Song used: Baby by Justin Bieber (Last line in Verse 1 and 1st line in Chorus)**

**[7] Song used: Which To Bury, Us Or The Hatchet by Relient K (Last line in Bridge to the end) **

**[8] Eileen is a mole with a beaver tail. A lot of people including myself think that one of the parents has to be a beaver and the other a mole. So I thought, when two different species mate, usually they have sterile offspring so…for the sake of not wanting Eileen to be pregnant in this story, I put that fact into effect **

**[9] The medical corporation...um...think of Quest Diagnostics or something**

**[10] Giants Assault= Attack on Titan. Damn, that anime has gotten popular**

**[11] PTB= Pulmonary Tuberculosis. Reading about it on the web, it fit the criteria I had for it being highly contagious and fatal if not treated but it had one complication...normally elderly people would get this disease unless the person had a weak immune system or AIDS so if you're wondering why Eileen gets raped and gets AIDS in my story, this is why (because originally this wasn't going to happen). And damn, this is a terrible disease too; with chest pains, coughing up blood/mucus, fatigue, night sweats, weight loss, fever, and breathing difficulty. I wish that on no one **

**P.S. Still looking for reviews, good or bad. Need to know what you guys think**


	3. Ch 2: The Script

**_A/N: THE CHANCES OF REGULAR SHOW BEING MINE ARE THE SAME AS THERE BEING A CHANCE OF A SNOWFALL IN THE MIDDLE OF SUMMER_**

_**P.S. Good Evening Darlings. Glad to see that you made it through that emotional first chapter. We got to see what happened that day when things got "crazy" in more detail and bits of other things that happened in the past ten years. Now is time to move forward and finally figure out what Rigby was trying to tell us…**_

* * *

**_A Regular Christmas Carol_**

**Chapter 2:**

_The Script_

After dealing with a lot of unresolved, bottled up emotions, Eileen tired herself out and fell asleep in her living room. Little did she know that she would get an unexpected visitor

**Eileen Dream POV:**

My dream resumed from a short nap I had yesterday. I remember running from something then getting knocked out in woods. Now I felt my head spinning as things keep changing from dark to light. I tried to move my hands to hold my head because I thought I was starting to get a headache but I couldn't because my hands were tied to my body. I tried to focus on the spinning scenery as everything kept going to the right like as if I was spinning in a circle, but between my head pounding and this heat that was overcoming me, I just couldn't center my attention

"Finally, you're awake" Despite all that was going on, there was always a voice I could never mistaken and I picked up on it origin almost immediately

"Rigby? What's happening? What's going on?" I said in a demanding but weak voice

"Why don't you see for yourself" That's when I had one of those out-of-body experiences and I saw myself tied on a spit, being rotisserie over a campfire

"What! You're cooking me?"

"Not yet" Rigby said as he was continuously turning the spit "I'm prepping you first" He stopped the spit for a second and took out his switch blade

"Rigby, what are you doing? Rigby?"

I started to feel a sharp pain hit my upper torso as he made a deep incision in my chest, throat, and the back of my head. After he was done, he turned the spit and positioned my body so my front was facing the flames. I started to feel dizzy as it was getting unbearably hot. My chest began to feel like it was going to crush my insides. My throat started to become very dry and swelled; making it hard to breathe. And the back my head was pounding so much that it felt like something was going to come out of it. I started to moan in discomfort and I heard Rigby say

"That's it, Eileen. Don't keep it in. Let it out"

"Stop mocking my pain, you sick bastard!" At that moment, I began to see some black liquid spill out of my fresh cuts. It was very thick with the viscosity of molasses and it almost had a green tint to it "I've done nothing to deserve this from you. I've been nothing but kind to you and yet you see it fit to inflict pain on me" As I was yelling at him, the black thick liquid that was coming out of me was forming tentacles "You're such a jerk! I-I" The pain in my chest was excruciating like my ribs were concaving on themselves; squeezing my heart and lungs…until I said "I hate you!"

At that moment, I started to hear the words I longed to say echo as this goop started form a sphere around me (with tentacles on the outside)

"You said it…finally" I heard Rigby say with a smirk on his face

"What!" My anger hit the roof when I heard that sly remark and the tentacles on the sphere started to attack him, but somehow he was able to evade them. As this transpired, I heard voices inside the ball whispering

**_'_****_Why did you come an hour early?' _**

**_'_****_From pain, you get honesty. At least I got one from you' _**

**_'_****_I can't…please…stop…I...'_**

**_'_****_Yes, Eileen. Let it out. I want to hear you scream'_**

**_'_****_I'm sorry Miss. Roberts, but I regret to inform you that you have AIDS'_**

**_'_****_Eileen, I want you to be open and honest with me'_**

The sphere kept feeding me snippets of the past I tried to repress and it only got me more furious. I swear, I was seeing red as I watched Rigby continue to fend against the tentacles with only his switch blade. Just watching him, made me want him to die all over again…with his own weapon

As I was thinking ill will of Rigby, something interrupted my thoughts and that was this burning sensation I felt on my stomach. I looked around and saw that the bubble I was in was filling up with the same sap that was leaking from my body earlier. Before I could react, it consumed my entire body and since I was still tied to the spit, I was now submerged in the substance

What was happening outside the bubble was just a blur now. My head started to pound harder than it did before, I was beginning to experience hot flashes because it felt like I was being boiled alive, and soon the air in my lungs seemed to escape me and I couldn't breathe. It was so hard to think of what to do because the voices in the bubble were so loud now

**_'_****_Come on, Eileen. It's ok to hate me. Hate me. After all, I gave you all of those scars' _**

I felt the scars on my chest beginning to sting as if they were freshly cut all over again

**_'_****_I'm the one that took your innocence without your consent' _**

My core started to burn with that throbbing pain I remember all too well

**_'_****_If you think about it, I'm the reason why you can't leave your house. If it wasn't for the STD I gave you, your immune system wouldn't have been weak enough to be effected by PTB [yet]'_**

It was getting too hot. It was hard to breathe, and my throat was on fire. I felt so weak that I couldn't even wiggle my toes and fingers

**_'_****_Come on Eileen, hate me because I'll never be the raccoon you use to know'_**

I felt like my heart was going to beat out of my chest and my head was spinning. I couldn't take this anymore. This pain was killing me…

That last notion had me thinking…about one of the songs I heard before I went to sleep…

_'I tried so hard to hate you, but it only makes things worse. I only end up hating myself…'_

"I'm doing it again, am I? Letting pain consume me. Better yet, letting hatred consume me. So this is what I've been reduced to, huh? Just a hopeless mole consumed by stress, self-pity, and grief…"

**_'_****_Ahh! You have what? Don't touch me!'_**

**_'_****_Run, it's a ghost!'_**

**_'_****_Look, it's the creepy-ass mole with mask. Don't go near her, she might infect you'_**

**_'_****_Weird-ass midget. What's your problem?'_**

"My problem? Letting go, I guess. It's so easy to hate, so easy to blame but at the same time, I'm stagnant and look where it's got me; nowhere, just stuck in my hatred, lost…"

I looked up and still saw Rigby, barely. He looked weary but he still kept trying to defend himself with his little knife. Oddly enough, viewing this made me remember when I helped him train to do a pull up. He may not be bulky like he was that time but the same determination in his eyes was there; and that brought tears to my eyes

"I miss those times. I wonder what stopped you from loving me?" That's when I remembered the last act he did the last time I saw him. I remembered us watching my tablet and having fun, I remember crying and him wiping my eyes "Because I miss loving you"

That's when I saw him jump on one of the tentacles, stab the bubble, causing everything to go white [1]

**/||||||||||||||/**

In the next segment of my dream, I was back in the woods. I was still on the spit over the campfire and Rigby was next to me, turning the spit

"Looks like the prepping is done" Rigby said

I noticed that he had a bowl filled with this strange red liquid. He took hold of the ladle that was in the bowl and started to drizzle some on my body like he was dressing meat or something. As the liquid dripped onto my body, I heard a sizzling sound. It was coming from the incisions he made earlier. I thought I would feel a burning sensation, judging from the noise but instead it felt soothing like when you put itching cream on a mosquito bite

"What are you doing now?" I asked when he put the bowl down

"I'm cooking you. You still need a few more minutes to brown before you're ready"

"For what?"

"For the solid I need you to do for me. You never would have been able to do it with all that anger holding you down" That's when I happened to notice the chains on his arms. They looked to be heavy as they dragged the ground, into the distance, but he acted like it was nothing

"What solid?" He let out a small sigh then he answered

"I had a vision. Before I died, I saw someone's death and I need your help to stop it"

"Whose?" As he was about to tell me, the chains started to wrap around his neck; choking him "What's happening?"

"I'm running out of time. Will you do that solid for me?" Rigby struggled to say

"Yes?"

"Then go to the mental hospital, I could talk to you there" After that, he was dragged by his chains into the depths of the forest

**3****rd**** Person POV:**

Eileen woke up in a cold sweat as she tried to regain some much needed breaths. She looked around and saw that she was right where she remembered last; on the floor by the bookshelf

"Ow, my head" she said to herself as she rubbed the back of her head. She tried to get up but she soon felt a pain in her chest as well (more toward the left side) "Must have slept on it wrong again" Once she was on her feet, she looked at the clock that was over the couch to see what time it was. That's when she felt a pain in her neck "Yep, definitely slept on it wrong, ow" She said as she held her neck

After recovering from that moment of slight discomfort, she looked up for a second time and then saw it said that it was 9:15am

"Crap, I'm fifteen minutes late" Eileen stated and swiftly made her way to her computer so she could check her emails "Dang it, and my boss already sent a crap load of work to do" Not wanting to waste anymore time, she quickly got started

**~12:00pm: Lunch Break~**

"Uhhh, how many times is he going to change his hotel and flight? Doesn't he know that it cost money to do that? [Sigh] My boss could be quite a handful sometimes. Well, at least I could rest a bit now" Eileen sat up from the chair she was sitting in and walked to the kitchen to look for something to eat "Man, I'm famished"

'But at the same time, I don't want to make anything that requires too much work' she thought as she looked through the cabinets and refrigerator

"Hm, not that much to choose from. I guess it's Oodles n' Noodle in a cup again [2]" Eileen took a noodle cup and a measuring cup from the cabinet and placed them on the counter. After she filled the measuring cup with water, she put it in the microwave and waited

'Well, at least my waking pains are gone but still…out of all the dreams that I had that were vivid and intense; this has to take the cake. Despite my usual waking pains vanishing, I could still feel a tingle where he cut me in my dream. I wonder if…' Her thoughts were brought to a standstill when she heard the microwave go off

After Eileen poured the hot water into the cup, she took her lunch into the living room. While she was waiting for the noodles to soften, she decided to clean the mess she made in the living room earlier to pass the time; starting with the broken radio in the corner of the room. As she swept the parts off the floor, she started to feel bad for the radio she broke. She had that radio since she was sixteen and it worked flawlessly until now. Oh well

Once the radio was thrown away, Eileen picked up the scrapbook and placed it on the bookshelf. That's when she happened to look down and notice something that made her cringe. On the floor, a few inches from where she took her nap was a switch blade; like the one in her dream. In all of her life, this timid mole never owned a switch blade so she was baffled on why it was in her house. After all, her doors and windows were locked so no one could have broken in here

Eileen reluctantly picked it up, examined it and dropped it again when she saw not blood but the blade stained with this black stuff. This had her running in the bathroom with fear hovering over her. After she shut the door, she took the shirt she was wearing off and looked in the mirror on the medicine cabinet. What she saw had her speechless. Just like in her dream, there was a cut mark on her throat and on her chest (she didn't bother to look behind her head). For the amount of years that Eileen had these scars, she had memorized every one; every stroke, every curve, every placement of each mark he inflicted on her so she was positive these were new. But oddly enough, they didn't look like fresh cuts. There were no traces of blood or anything. As a matter of fact, they almost looked like they were almost healed

At this point, Eileen didn't know what to think. One part of her was scared because she thought she might be literally haunted by Rigby (and the fact that he marked her again). Another part of her was confused because her brain was desperately trying to think logically about this but no answers were popping up

'[Sigh] I need advice' She thought

With that in mind, Eileen left the bathroom and went back into the living room. She sat down at her computer and logged onto Skope [3]. Even though her friend might be working right now, Eileen could always depend on her to slack off so she has to be there

**_#Ellie_**

CJ, Are you there?

**_#Cloudy Jay_**

Yeah, Eileen. What's up? Is everything ok?

**_#Ellie_**

Sort of…I need to ask you something?

**_#Cloudy Jay_**

Are you running out of food because I was just going to go food shopping after work

**_#Ellie_**

Yes, actually but that's not why I messaged you. I took a nap this morning before logging onto work and I woke up with new slits in my chest and neck

**_#Cloudy Jay_**

What?!

Are you alright?

Did someone break into your house?

**_#Ellie_**

I'm alright, I'm just confused is all. I think…

I think Rigby is trying to contact me

**_#Cloudy Jay_**

Huh?

**_#Ellie_**

Look, I know I sound crazy but I had a dream that he was trying to tell me something important and during the dream he used a switch blade to cut me

After that, I woke up and find the same cuts he made on me

And get this, they're not fresh. They almost looked like they've healed already

**_#Cloudy Jay_**

You sure they aren't just the old scars you had?

**_#Ellie_**

No, they aren't. After eighteen years of seeing them on my body, I've never seen these. Plus, he never slice my neck during that night

Man, I really don't know what to do. I even found the switch blade Rigby used in my dream right where I was sleeping; cover in black stuff

**_#Cloudy Jay_**

WTF!

You sure no one didn't break into your house because I hate to think that you're hurting yourself in your sleep

**_#Ellie_**

No, the doors were locked and everything

Plus, I told you that the cuts were almost healed now. Besides, if I cut myself then I would be all bloody, my wounds would still be open and I would probably not be talking to you right now

**_#Cloudy Jay_**

Well, I don't know what to tell you

But you could talk to Fives. He is a ghost after all. Maybe he could give you a better opinion than me

**_#Ellie_**

Good idea

Thanks CJ

**_#Cloudy Jay_**

No problem, Eileen

**_#Ellie_**

By the way, when you go to the store, could you get me some more tea? And maybe some diced chicken and those pasta meals [4]?

**_#Cloudy Jay_**

Sure

Oh my boss is coming

See ya after work

**_#Ellie_**

Ok. Bye

…

After Eileen finished chatting with CJ, she got her cellphone and called Fives. It was only 12:32pm so she presumed that he should still be on his lunch break

"Hello?"

"Fives, this is Eileen"

"Eileen? Um, uh. Hi"

"Is everything ok?"

"Yeah, yeah. Just surprised is all. I just haven't heard from you in a while so…um"

"Yeah, I know. It's been a while" Eileen felt a little guilty when he said that. After Rigby went crazy and Mordecai became more distant, she just stopped talking to people in the park "Well, I know that you'll be going back to work soon and…"

"Actually, I'm working right now"

"Woah, I sorry. I don't know why I remember the park employees' lunch breaks lasting until one in the afternoon"

"Well, they use to be like that years ago but it's been cut down to thirty minutes now"

"Oh…well, I'll just make this quick then. I wanted to ask you if you know about haunting"

"I know a little but I don't know how to exorcise if that's what you're asking"

"No, I just think that Rigby is haunting me"

"What?" Fives sounded concerned and was silent for a second

"Fives, you still there?"

"I'm coming over after work" Fives said with a sense of urgency but then change his tone back to being high-strung "If that's ok with you"

"No, that's fine"

**~Later That Evening~**

After dealing with all of those co-workers and bosses that were being a pain in the neck, Eileen finally logged off from her job. As soon as she sat down in her reclining chair to rest a bit, she heard her doorbell ring. She immediate got her mask that was hanging by the front door, put it on, and answered it

It was CJ. She had a handful of groceries and a tiresome look on her face

"CJ" Eileen said trying to sound excited because you really couldn't see all of her facial expressions with that mask on

"Hey, Eileen. How's my favorite mole?" She said giving Eileen a big hug

"Fine, just let me down" Eileen said trying to not sound offensive because she was still sick and even though CJ had on a mask too, she was a cloud after all. She could probably spread this airborne disease faster than Eileen could with a simple cough (so that's why Eileen was nervous when CJ came into contact with her)

"Oh sorry, forgot" She said releasing her "But, I come baring gifts" CJ held up her bags of groceries and walked inside Eileen house so she could set them down

"Thanks CJ. So which bag has the receipt in it?"

"Oh Ellie, there's no need for that. This food delivery is free of charge; from the courtesy of yours truly"

"No, CJ. I can't do that. I'm not a charity, you know"

"Ellie, I insist"

"But CJ, this is the second time you did this. Granted, the first time I was scrapped for cash but this time I'm not" Eileen said while she was digging through her purse

"Eileen, keep it. It's fine, really. You don't need to pay me back. That's what friends do for each other in this gracious time of year"

"Huh?"

"Come on, don't you feel that Christmas vibe flowing through the air?" She said twirling a bit

"CJ, sorry to burst your bubble but it's June"

"I know that but who says that you can't be cheery and do something nice when Summer comes along. If anything, people could use some more cheerfulness especially when driving through hot, slow traffic" CJ said as she remembered her long troublesome commute here

"If you say so"

"Well, I have to get going. I'm as hungry as a pig and that Margherita Pizza isn't going to eat itself"

"Ok, bye CJ. It was nice seeing you"

When CJ left, Eileen brought the groceries into the kitchen and when she was halfway through, she found something she wasn't expecting. It was a book

"How to Deal With the Paranormal" she read out loud. Eileen opened it up and in the cover was a sticky note saying:

_Thought I would pick this up for you. Hope this helps. Happy Holidays_

_Sincerely,_

_CJ_

Eileen closed the book and squeezed the bridge of her nose; not in frustration but in humor and disbelief

'CJ, it's June. [Sigh]. Sometimes, I wonder about that girl; always having her head in the clouds…no pun intended [chuckle]'

~* { )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( } *~

After she put the food away, she got dinner started. While she was waiting for ingredients to boil, she sat down in the kitchen and started reading the book CJ gave her

_…__There are two reasons why ghosts would be stuck on earth/purgatory. They have unfinished business (which include unjust deaths, revenge, protection of a loved one, past debts etc.) or it is their permanent resting place where they are trapped for eternal suffering_

_Either one could be the explanation of why a specter is haunting/lurking a specific area [5] _

"Interesting" Eileen said as she turned the page of her book

Just then, she heard a knock at the door

"Eileen, it's me" Fives said on the other side of the front door

"Coming" Eileen finished prepping her food and put a lid on it. Then she went into the living room where she found Fives already hovering over the couch "Oh hey"

"Hi, Eileen. So what makes you think that Rigby is 'haunting' you?" Fives said, getting right to the point

"Well, when I woke up from a nap, I acquired this" Not wanting to show him the mark on her chest, Eileen just showed the mark on her neck

"Hm, and you're sure this isn't from when Rigby cut you that night?" Fives said lifting her head so he could see it better

"I'm positive. And I believe that he used this to do it" Eileen pulled out the switch blade and showed it to him

"What's all of this black stuff?"

"I honestly couldn't tell you. The only lead I have is what I could remember in my dream"

"And what happened in this dream of yours"

"I remember being roasted in the forest…Rigby making slits in three different places, my neck being one of them…then there was the black tentacles that came out of me and engulfed me in a black sphere…Then he broke me out and poured this red stuff on me saying that 'I needed a few minutes before I was ready for a task he wanted me to do for him"

"Red liquid, huh" Fives said observing the knife "That would explain your rapid recovery" Fives said referring to her neck

"What explains it? You understand what's going on?"

"Sort of. I think I've heard about this ritual once before but it involved a bell and black flaming mark that would engulf the victim's body. But if it wasn't the bell [6] that summoned what was inside of you, I wonder what sound did?"

That's when she remembered when Rigby was encouraging her to let out her angry

'I wonder if admitting and saying what I yearned to say for years was the sound Fives is talking about' she thought to herself

"I hate you" Eileen said in a whisper

"What?" Fives said confused

"I think that's was the sound. For years I've been bottling up my anger towards him and I guess when I finally said that, it released it all at once"

"Hatred. So that was what he was summoning. Hn, I heard that is something far more difficult to defeat than battling stress…Eileen, was there a message or some instructions he wanted you to follow?"

"Well, he did say to meet him at the Mental Hospital before he was dragged off by chains"

"Chains? Oh no. You didn't say anything about chains" Fives said suddenly in a panic

"What's wrong? Does it mean something terrible?"

"It depends. Did you notice Rigby having any legs?"

"Um, yes. I think he did, why?"

"Oh no. This is worst than I thought. Here I'm thinking that he was just a ghost with some unfinished business but now that you said that-"

"Where are you getting at? What's wrong?"

"As you could see, I don't have legs which shows that I'm not chained to a specific area so I'm free to visit this world and the next whenever I please. Rigby, on the other hand, has legs which means he has unfinished business and he won't be able to rest until he finishes it. However that wouldn't be too bad if didn't have those...chain. Since he has those, he has been confined to this earth; forever to be punished [7]. What confuses me is that he should be stuck at the mental hospital; judging by what you're telling me. If that was the case, how did he get here when he's two towns away? That must have hurted a lot. He could have just messaged you telepathically"

All this time, Eileen was taking all of this in but at the same time wondering what she should do. Sure, she didn't hated him anymore but she didn't exactly forgive him either

'All these years, he had enjoyed seeing me in pain. Now all of the sudden, he takes the risk of coming here, just to get rid me of my hatred?' That's when she remembered something Rigby told her in her dream

_'...the solid I need you to do for me. __You never would have been able to do it with all that anger holding you down'_

'What are you planning, Rigby?' Eileen pondered

"So what are you going to do?" Fives asked me; breaking me out of my thoughts

"I-I don't know"

**~Early In The Morning~**

It is about four in the morning and while everyone is asleep in the town of Twin Peaks, one lone mole sits wide awake in her bedroom

"So many questions with no answers, effects without causes, actions without reasons…but who says I need those answers" Eileen said trying to convince herself that she didn't have to go but the more she thought about it, the more it made her restless

'What if he's in trouble and he really needs your help? What if it's just a trick? You know how he is and how he likes to mess with your emotions. But why go through all of that trouble to do that? According to the book I read, escaping from your eternal prison results in a pain far worse than what you're subjected to in your eternal bondage (varying with what type of punishment you get). If that's the case, why would he do that just to trick me…Why did he choose me?'

More question kept popping in the mole's head until she found herself in the living room; staring at the switch blade on the computer desk and the mask hanging by the front door

'I must be out of my mind'

~* { )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( } *~

Everything was relatively quiet except the occasional crickets that would sound off and the heavy breathing that was emanating from a certain mole walking down the dim streets of Maples

'[Breathing] I remember when I could walk this distance with ease, now look at me' the mole thought as wiping some sweat from her brow with one hand while holding onto her chest (under her breasts) with the other. She then leaned on a metal fence so she could catch her breath 'I don't even know why I'm doing this. As if the people that work at the mental hospital are going to let me in; as sick as I am. What am I suppose to say, Oh, I'm here to see one of your deceased patients while I contaminant your entire building'

'Who says that you have to come inside the building?'

When Eileen heard that voice in her head, she turned around and saw no one. At first she was scared because she couldn't find the origin of the voice, but then she heard it again

'That eager to see me, huh? I'm so touched' It said in a teasing way

'Shut up, Rigby! You just scared me; popping out of nowhere' Eileen thought back 'Now what am I suppose to be doing here?'

'You see that bush to your left? If you crawl in it, there will be a loose bar in the gate. Break it, and you could crawl inside'

'Why can't we just talk outside the gate so I don't get in trouble?'

'Because this mind talking thing is hard and it's easier when you're close'

'[Groan] Fine, but if I end up in the penitentiary because of you, I'm going to haunt you for the rest of your life…well afterlife' Eileen said when she crawled through the hidden hole in the gate

'Oh, I can't wait'

'Uhhh! Just show me where to go next so I could get out of here'

'Alright, alright. Just go to the left side of the building. You'll see me signaling you through a window'

Eileen followed his instructions and glanced at each window as she past; looking for a sign. When she got to the last one, she saw that the window was fogged and a handprint was being shown every few seconds

"I'm guessing that's the signal?" Eileen said out loud as she leaned on the building by the window because she was very exhausted by now

'Wow, you got tired by walking a few steps? I would say that you would need some exercise but you're as skinny as a stick'

'I didn't walk a few steps, you prick. I walked seven miles to get to this stupid place'

'You walked here? You could have just drove here'

'No, I couldn't have just drove here. Because of this PTB I have, I can't drive without be a threat to other drivers. Either I would get fatigue, fall asleep, or even have one of my 'attacks'…I can't go anywhere without being a danger to people' At this Eileen was feeling very depressed since couldn't bring herself to get angry and found herself standing up straight

"Which is why I think it was a mistake coming here. I'm not supposed to be outside anymore. I'm just a hazard to everything I come into contact with. How could I help you with whatever you want me to do when I can't even help myself anymore"

After saying that out loud, Eileen started to walk off until she felt a hand touch her shoulder. Her normal reaction would have been to flinch or to slap it off if it was Rigby but instead, she just froze

'Hn, welcome to the club' Eileen was about to swat his hand away but when she saw the fingers that was gripping her shoulder, she stopped. Even though it was somewhat translucent, it looked like his hand had been through a shedder. In some places, you could see his fur but other parts, you could see his skin all bloody up. Even on his pinky and index finger, you could see bone

Out of her curiosity, despite how scared she was, she found her head turning and slowly her eyes trailed up the battered arm until it ended at the window where she only could see one bloodshot eye staring back at her in the darkness. Despite the smartass comment Rigby gave her, his eye contradicted his words. It almost displayed a sense of fear with a mixture of sorrow

While she was staring at him, Rigby's arm trembled a couple of times before he retracted it back in the room again; leaving the room dark once again. Seeing Rigby do that, snapped her out of her daze and she leaned on the building again. She didn't know why but seeing him like that compelled her to ask

"Rigby…this has been plaguing me for a while and…I wanted to asked you" Eileen turned her head and looked straight ahead at the city below "Do you still think that the pain was worth everything?" There was no response "Do you regret anything?"

'No' he said very plain with no emotion at all 'Look Eileen, I know what you're trying to do but at this point there is no hope for me. You showed me a new world Eileen and now I can't escape it. I loved slicing Mordecai open, I loved marking you and nothing you could do can change that. Even now I wish I could relive that night over and over again…because that was the only time I was truly happy with both of you' Eileen just stared at the window in disbelief at what she was hearing 'There was no doubt, no barred up emotions, just release and how sweet it was…I thought that I could show you that, make you understand the bliss of feeling that way but I guess I was wrong'

'What are you saying?'

'You're always talking about me putting up walls. You may have gave me your heart but you never gave me the key; leaving me to figure things out on what's wrong with you. You were never completely honest with me. Whenever something was wrong, you would always hide it. You would always say 'I got it' and leave me out of it. What good am I to you if I can't…'

As Rigby was saying this, Eileen was flashing back to scenes when she would leave him out of things, but it was only because she thought it was petty and that he would probably have thought it was stupid. Plus, she doesn't like to bother people with her problems sometimes because she is use to doing things herself

"It's funny-" Eileen found herself saying "-how karma works. Here you were, feeling like your were useless. Useless because Mordecai didn't need you anymore and me…being caught up in independency. Now, I'm rendered to the point where I can't even get food without CJ having to deliver it for me. Rigby…you looked to me for help when you needed me most and somehow I let you down. Even though, I don't approve how you chose to react under the pressure, I-I"

At this moment, Eileen was slowly piecing together why Rigby did what he did and even though it was wrong, she started to feel sorry for him. Sure she was infatuated with Rigby back then and wanted to spend every moment she had with him but looking back, she remembers hiding things back from him; in fears of rejection and him leaving her. It was bad enough that he thought that she was weird and knew that she was allergic to duck dander. But she never knew that her hiding her fears and distress would push him away and make him doubt her

"Rigby" She continued "What do you need me to do?"

~* { )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( } *~

On the way home, Eileen contemplated the information Rigby gave her. She was at a quandary on what to do

_'__Eileen, Mordecai is going to do die on the Fourth of July and I don't know how to stop it…'_

Rigby had already tried to tell him but he's too far to talk to him telepathically (remember he had trouble with this new technique). He then tried contacting someone closer which happened to be Eileen but he was still having problems so that led to him breaking out of his prison. However, when he attempt to warn Mordecai himself, he wound up reaching his limit at the border of Twin Peaks. Not able to reach Mordecai's apartment, he did the next best thing which led to Eileen being caught up in this mess

'This would be easy if it was simply to stop his death but Rigby failed to see the big picture. After he told me where he was going after his death changed everything completely. So now it wouldn't matter if we stopped the cause of it. If we didn't change him, his aftermath would still be the same and it wouldn't be pretty. So now the problem is, how do we change someone as stubborn as Mordecai because according to CJ, he's a tough nut to crack. Man, this is going to be a toughie'

**/||||||||||||||/**

When Eileen got home, it was almost six o'clock in the morning which was later than she planned to get home. She nearly saw nine people and each encounter scared her to no end

'I really think I saw that last people cough…stop stressing, he might just be under the weather…in the middle of the summer…well, he might have been in front of the A/C too long…uhhh! I got him sick, I just know it…[Groan] Eileen, get a hold of yourself. We have bigger things to worry about, remember?'

After fighting with her conscience, she took her own advice and went back to trying to finding a solution to this problem but nothing came to mind

'It's not like I could walk up to him and say, You're going to die in a week so you should change your ways. No, I needed to think of something mind-changing, something that could pull him out of the darkness, something that will engrave a message in him that he'll never forget'

Eileen racked her brain and for an hour, she couldn't think of a single idea

"Uhh! This is hopeless"

'But you can't give up now. There are lives at stake' She heard her conscience say

'I know but uhh! This just feels so frustrating. Normally, I'm able to come up with great ideas when push comes to shove but now I'm drawing a blank here'

'Well, maybe you need to rest; get inspired'

"Yeah, I just need to step back and rethink things" Eileen said to herself as she literally stepped back and closed her eyes "Now, what could I use for inspiration?" She opened her eyes and looked around and the first thing she saw was her bookshelf "That's what I need, something to read"

Eileen scanned through the titles from Edgar Allen Poe's _The Raven_, Gary Paulsen's _The Hatchet_, Suzanne Collins's _The Hunger Games_ series, Webster's Dictionary…

While Eileen kept searching, her cellphone went off. It was CJ...at this time in the morning?

"Hey, how's my favorite mole?"

"Fine, I guess. Just trying to…" Eileen tried to choose her words carefully "help a friend out is all"

"Oh, do you need any help?"

"Nah, I got this"

"Oh…well, how did the thing with Fives go? Was he any help to you?"

"Yeah, and we were able to figure out why he was contacting me. Now, I'm stuck with the task of getting the old Mordecai back again" There was a silence for a second but CJ responded back

"[Sigh] Eileen. That's a road that I fear that may lead to nowhere. I've tried so many times and every time I've failed. You could bet though that I'm not going to give up but uhhhh! He could be so secretive and self-contained sometimes that it's hard to get though to him. It's like he's his own little clam"

That's when Eileen got a brain spark

"Wait a minute, say that last line again"

"What? That he's like his own little clam?"

"Well that too but the 'secret and self-contained' part. I know I've heard that before" Eileen scanned her bookshelf and on the end of the second row, she found the book she was looking for. It didn't take her long to search through the pages because what she was looking for was on the first page "Here it is"

_"__[He was] hard and sharp as a flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret and self-contained, and as solitary as an oyster." [8] _

"That's it. I've got it. The perfect plan to get Mordecai back to his old self. And considering the turn of events, this is a perfect template to go by. This story was made for him"

'Now all I have to do is think of who is going to play what' and that when she thought

"Hey CJ, I think I might need your help after all"

"Sure, what do you need?"

"I need you to throw a party on the Fourth of July at your house"

"A party?"

"Yes, do you think that you could do that or is it too soon?"

"Nah, it's fine but I don't think-"

"Good, I'll tell you the rest of the plan when I finalize everything else in my head. Okay, talk to you later"

Eileen was so amped that she left CJ hanging on the phone. She immediately sat on the couch and took out a pad so she could take notes as she read. She already had ideas of how her plan was going to go since she had read this book countless times but there was no harm in going back to the source to look up some details to add. After all, a good script requires great thought, patience, and references

~* { )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( } *~

Days went by while Eileen effortlessly continued to map out her strategy. Sure her only breaks were when she had to work but she didn't give that much thought. All that was on her mind was getting this script done. After all, July was two days away and she would still have to tie up some loose ends with Pops and Techmo. She had already told them about her plans and they were game for it, but she still had to work out a few kinks so she works countless hours; racking her brain on a few details

"Alright, all I need is to figure out how to end this. Should I show him his death or should I go traditional?" Eileen said out loud

'I say, we show it to him. Put the fear of death in him' Eileen heard Rigby's voice in her head

All throughout the past few days, Rigby has been popping in Eileen's head every now and again; checking on how she was doing and giving his two cents on her plans. Surprisingly to Eileen, he would come up with great suggestions which made her feeling...pleased. This not only let off the stress she would feel when she had writer's block but it also motivated her to keep going; giving her this drive that she hadn't felt in a long time…She had a purpose. Someone needed her and all because of this crazy raccoon that decided to help out an old friend...and it's because of this, she was going to do everything in her power to not mess this up. She wasn't going to let Rigby or Mordecai down…not again

'Ok, that sounds good' Eileen thought back to him. With that problem solved, she finally finished writing it (on paper)

"Ok, now all I have to do is type the final edit on the computer then email it to Techmo and probably send the written one to Pops since I don't have his email address. Oh and…"

'Eileen, every time I've popped in, you've been working. Oh I have to do, or I have to do that. You still have time. Eat something. Sleep or something'

Eileen was taken back by what Rigby told her. If anything, she would expect a smartass comment or him rushing her

"Rigby, I'm fine. Don't worry. I just want to get this done as soon as possible is all. You know that we only have four days left and we still have to make connections with-"

'I know that. [Groan] It's just…you're my only link right now and the last thing I need is for you to push yourself too far'

'Look Rigby, like I told you, I'll be fine. I'm just going to type this and email it to Techmo then CJ so she could give it Pops. After that, he could orchestrate it with Techmo and I could finally hand the reins to them'

'Alright, but you better not drain yourself doing this'

With that, Rigby disconnected from her and she was left to type and do her final edits in peace. Since it was Friday, she didn't have to worry about working so she had all day to type. For hours, she worked her fingers to the bone; typing relentlessly until she heard a noise

***Growl***

Eileen held her belly as her stomach started to talk back at her. She couldn't blame it though because it was six o'clock at night and she haven't eaten since yesterday

***Growl***

"Come on, can't you wait until I finish the final act?" Eileen said to her deprived stomach

***Growl***

"Ok, fine"

She got up from her chair and immediately felt the blood trying to rush back to her legs while she heard a slight crack when she straighten her back

'Ow, my butt. Man, I guess I was sitting there too long'

She made her way to the kitchen and headed straight for the fridge. Even though she was glad to be moving her aching muscles around, she wanted to get back to the computer as soon as possible so she took out a tuppleware bowl full of leftover chicken alfredo and put it in the microwave

After it was done, she went straight to the living room to find her computer screen blue with a bunch of zeros and ones. She dropped the food that was in her hands and ran to her desk. Not being a techie, she couldn't understand the binary codes displayed on her computer screen so she did the only thing that she could think of…turn it off. So she held the power button and the screen went black

She waited a few seconds and turned it back on and expect it to be back to normal but the binary codes were back and it didn't look like they were going to be gone anytime soon

"Dang it!" Eileen said while hitting the desk "All of my corrections,down the drain. Stupid computer. Now what am I going to do?"

The first thing she thought of was Techmo. He could come over and fix her computer for her. That seemed like a good plan but then she remember that he was at a computer convention, looking for a part to a machine he said would help with her plans. So that was out

'Well, maybe I could call someone else to fix it…but wait. I can't have anyone come into this house. I could get them sick. It's bad enough that CJ comes from time to time…wait CJ'

That's when she thought that CJ could come and pick up the hard copy, type it, and sent it to Pops and Techmo. However, she found another hole in her idea. CJ was out of town for the weekend over some family issues (another death in the family). She said that she would be back on the second but that would be cutting it close and they would need a lot more time than that to set up things so CJ was out

'Um, there has to be someone else I could call?'

That's when she thought of Fives. Since he was a ghost, she wasn't afraid of getting him sick. So she thought that he could deliver the script to Pops at least so she gave his cellphone a call

"Hello?"

"Fives, this is Eileen"

"Oh, Eileen. Hello? Is everything ok?"

"Fives, can you to do me a favor?"

"It depends" That when she heard another voice on the other end "Katie, no. Don't go in the dryer. It's not a toy…sorry about that Eileen. That was my niece"

"Your niece [9]?"

"Yeah, my brother and his wife are on a trip out of state for their wedding anniversary and they asked me to babysit Katie over the weekend. Boy is she a handful"

Eileen felt her hands squeeze the phone like she was attempting to break it while she still held it to her ear

"So was there something you wanted?" Fives asked "Katie! Don't drink that. Bleach is bad. Here, have some apple juice"

"No" Eileen said with a sigh "Nevermind" Since Fives had his 'hand' full babysitting, she couldn't burden him with this

"Okay? Well, see ya, I guess"

"Ok, bye"

She hung up the phone and plopped onto the couch in frustration

"Uhhh! What am I going to do now?"

Eileen's options were limited and she just had to get that script to Pops and soon so she could start fully getting this plan off the ground. Every day that past were precious hours they weren't spending on saving Mordecai from certain death. They only had four days left, well three if you count this day being almost over…

This stress she was under was starting to get to her to the point that she was starting to cough again

'Eileen, calm the fuck down! I don't need you dying on me now. Just stop worrying yourself sick about this and breathe already' Rigby yelled in her head

Eileen eventually stopped coughing and tried to steady her breathing

'Now' Rigby said calmly 'We'll figure out a way to get that script to Pops somehow. We just have to think is all'

That's when Eileen got one more idea. She pulled herself off the couch and felt a sharp pain hit her chest

'Eileen, what were you thinking?' Rigby said with a hint of anxiety in his voice. After she got past her chest hurting, she walked through her house until she found her closet 'Eileen…what are you planning?...Eileen!'

Eileen grabbed a black messenger bag and headed back to the living room

'Eileen, you better not be doing what I think you're doing' Rigby warned

"Rigby, it's the only way. We have been wasting too much precious time as it is" Eileen said out loud as she grabbed the script and put it in her bag

'Eileen, think smartly about this. You're too drained to go out there'

"I don't care"

'Look, maybe we could just mail it or something'

"That'll take too long"

'Or maybe…' before Rigby could think up another idea, Eileen yelled

"Rigby, just stop! I've already exhausted my brain thinking up every possible way of doing this. Like I said, there is no other way"

'Eileen, just sit down. We could think of something. We just need a little time to think-'

"We don't have any time! We only have three days left after today and there is still so much we have to do. We don't have any more time to drag this. Don't you want to save Mordecai?" There was a small silence as Eileen walked to the front door and put her mask on

'Eileen…just sit down' he said in almost a whisper. He sounded tired, almost pleading and that made a smile form under Eileen's mask because despite how frustrated she was over this dreadful turn of events, she couldn't help but feel a bit lighthearted at the thought of Rigby being worried about her. So she let out a sigh and put her hand on the doorknob

"Don't worry. I'll be fine"

With that, she opened the door and walked out of her house

~* { )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( } *~

Meanwhile at Red Oak's Mental Hospital, the staff working there were in a pickle because all of its patients were in a frenzy. They were either complaining or completely terrified by the so-called noise that was coming from the vacant room at the end of the hall

"How many time do I have to tell them, there is no noise and there is nobody in that room!" Derek said aggravated over the whole situation

"I know, I know, Derek. But it doesn't seem like they know that" Clara said to him "It is kind of weird how all of them seem to be complaining about it and not just one person"

"It's probably a trick that they're all in on. Either way, it's driving me to drunk" Derek told her

"Well, maybe there are strange things going on in that room. There were a couple of new patients that we tried to put in there, but they claimed to see a specter of some sort"

"Come on, Clara. Don't tell me that you're going to give in to their antics too?"

"No, I'm saying though…"

As the two were arguing, a massive battle was raging down the hall. Even though words weren't heard, the patients could hear things breaking and a constant banging against the wall

'What's wrong Rigby? Having trouble breaking through the walls again' a taunting voice echoed through the walls of Rigby's room 'You really think that after you got out the first time that we would be tripped up by the same mistake again? Face it Rigby. You're trapped here and there is nothing you could about it'

'Stop talking' Rigby said as he still tried to phase through the window. He only managed to get his arm out and even then it felt like going through broken glass as it scraped his skin

'Oh, the little raccoon is getting mad?' another voice said, mocking Rigby

'He's just mad that he can't save his little girlfriend. How pathetic' the first voice said

That's when Rigby felt a sharp pain hit his back. He stopped pounded the window then leaned on the wall in pain. He had already received a lash for every second he was out of his prison so he was already in pain as it was [10]. Another crack of the whip was the last thing he needed right now

'Ha, what happened to that sadistic mind of yours? Don't you want her to feel pain?' The second voice teased as he flicked his whip at him again

Despite the pain he was feeling on his back, his head was hurting even more. It wasn't because of a headache. It was this 'sense' he was receiving

'Damn it! I need to get out of here!' Rigby said

'Aw, your little girlfriend ain't doing so well? Well too bad'

That's when Rigby felt himself being picked up and thrown into the wall. A trail of blood stained the wall as he slide down and hit the floor

'You can't stop fate. She's going to die just like that blue friend of yours' the first voice taunted him but Rigby simply got up and continued trying to phase through the window. However the two ghosts didn't let up and just kept punishing him by either punching him or throwing him against the wall or the bed

'Just give up, you can't win' the second voice said

Rigby never felt so much pain run through his body. His legs felt like noodles, his back stung like fire, his head was pounding, and he really felt like his unearthly body was going to give out but he just simply ignored it and gave a smile

'Ha, is that all you got? You're making this all too easy' Rigby said to his tormentors as he phased half of his body through before it repelled him back again 'Beat me to a pulp, come on. I don't care. I kind of miss feeling the sensation of feeling numb'

The second voice tackled him again and held him by his neck

'Happy to oblige'

After that, Rigby felt a series of punches hit him in the chest but he didn't let it faze him. He was too busy smiling at an idea that flashed in his brain

~* { )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( } *~

Eileen's vision was starting to get blurred the more she took steps; despite the glasses she had on. Her breathing got heavier, the atmosphere got hotter around her, and she felt like her body was walking with toothpicks for legs

While at the next light, she could feel herself feeling lightheaded so she leaned on the side of a building to catch her breath. At this point, she was beginning to regret her decision. She really felt like she wasn't going to make it

'Dang it. I'm not even half way there yet…But it's too late to turn back now. I have to keep going'

That's when she got up and began to walk across the street; unaware that she almost got hit by a car in the process because she crossed when the yellow light turned red for the traffic behind her…

The more she walked, the more she felt like she was wearing blinders because she was completely unaware of what was around. Approaching cars, people walking by, roaming animals; nothing could faze her because right now her soul focus was getting to the park

'Just keep on going, don't stop. You'll get there, just don't stop. Just ignore the pain, don't stop. Ignore their stares, just don't stop. Just don't…'

She found herself being brought out of her dazed when reality struck her chest. She started coughing very violently that she had to stop. She supported herself on the traffic light pole on the corner and tried desperately to get herself together. That's when she looked across the street and saw the coffee shop and that just lit her whole face up

'It's the Coffee Shop! I'm so close' she thought

Seeing this building gave her so much hope that she lifted herself from the pole and pressed forward

'I'm so close. After I cross this street, I'll only be a few blocks away. I just need to cross this street…cross this street…'

~* { )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( } *~

Meanwhile at the mental hospital, Rigby was still enduring being a punching bag to his tormentors but he just kept a straight face. After all, it would be a matter of time until he would get lose…however, under his smug look, he was going insane because he had been trying to get in touch with Eileen for what felt like an hour but she has been blocking him out

'Eileen! Eileen! Answer me already. I know you're there'

'I'm so close'

'Eileen?'

'After I cross this street, I'll only be a few blocks away'

'Eileen, can you hear me?'

'I just need to cross this street' Rigby could hear from her thoughts that she wasn't all there and this scared him to no end

'Eileen, get a hold of yourself! Stop! Rest! Just stop pushing yourself!

'…cross this street…'

'Eileen! I know you hear me!'

'…so close…'

'Eileen! Just stop!'

'Cross-' That's when Rigby felt the worst pain to come across his body. It wasn't being slammed into a wall, being whip so many time, being punched or being shredded by this barrier, no. But this pain was so great, it made him scream…

**/||||||||||||||/**

The mental hospital suddenly started falling into chaos when the lights started flickering out of control and everything that was running on electricity was going haywire. The patients were in a panic; holding their ears while the staff was running around confused at what to do

"Ahhh! What's going on" Derek yelled holding his ears from all of that technical noise

"I don't know" Clara yelled back. They were about to ask Susan but she was already investigating. They watched her walk down the hall and then froze when she got to the vacant room at the end of it

"Susan?" They both yelled but she didn't respond. They walked to her to see what she was staring at when they froze too

They only had a glimpse but what they could see had their legs glued to the floor and their heart rate escalating. Behind the window part of the door, they could see blood all over the walls. Some of it spelled 'Soon', some formed tally marks, some were simply claw marks. At the same time, the lights were flickering and this ominous green aura was filling the room

"What on earth?" Clara said

"Ahhh! Make the screaming stop!" The three staff members heard a few doors down where another patient was being held

"I told you! I told all of you! He's still there and now he's going to kill us all!" they heard another patient say

"He isn't taking me alive! Come at me! Come at me! I'm ready" said another

"Pineapple!" yelled another

The staff were at a loss at what to do. After all, they couldn't hear what the patients heard and what they heard was scream so terrifying that it had all of them scared shitless [11]. The scream was so loud, for people that could hear it, it could be heard for miles [12]…

across towns…

and at a certain intersection,

where traffic was accumulating because of the accident cause by an eight wheeler…

by an old coffee shop…

where blood and papers were scattered everywhere…

* * *

**A/N: Wow that was a lot (and just to think that this chapter and the one before it were all one chapter before I split it in half). Well, that wraps up that chapter…and a certain mole**

**Blue: [Sobbing]**

**Scarlet: [Groan] Damn, what are you crying about now?**

**Blue: You killed Eileen?! How could you? **

**Scarlet: What? You're acting like killing Eileen is hard. It's not like it's earth scattering. It's just Eileen**

**Blue: Just Eileen?**

**Scarlet: Yeah. After all, its…Blue why are you looking at me like that?**

***Scarlet ducks from Blue trying to hit her with a bat***

**Blue: Just Eileen! [Keeps Swinging] You know she was my favorite!**

**Scarlet: I know that very well [Dodges another swing] but it was for the benefit of the story**

**Blue: Benefit of the story!**

***Blue goes insane while Scarlet runs to find her bag***

**Blue: Come back here! You fairy of a bitch! When I get my hands on you, I'm going to bash your head open like a piñata **

**Scarlet: Damn where's my katana when I need it?**

**...**

**[1] For people that didn't catch it, I brought that quote Rigby said last chapter into a physical form ****_'Love makes openness while pain creates honesty'._**** So when she wasn't hating Rigby, it created an opening for Rigby to stab her 'hate'**

**[2] Oodles n' Noodles in a Cup= Cup Noodles **

**[3] Skope= For those that didn't read my other story, Skope is Skype (my version anyways) **

**[4] Pasta Meals= Pasta Sides. A pasta meal in a bag for those who want pasta but want it in eight minutes. Love those things**

**[5] Just so you know, I have no idea about ghost so I just tried to combine what I know from Casper, religion, and the little information I got from Regular Show…for those that "know better", just roll with it**

**[6] In the episode, ****_Skips' Stress_****, when Skips ' stress got out of control, it consumed his body. I just simply took that and made it consume her mind while in her dream, it consumed her physically in a bubble. Even though the stress was brought out by that sacred bell, I thought it would be cool if releasing Eileen anger/hatred towards Rigby was as simple as saying 'I hate you' which for a few is hard…see bottling up your emotions is bad **

**[7] I've always wonder why Fives never had legs yet he could grow arms. Then there was the episode when Muscleman died in the crash pit, then the whole park staff died at the end of that Halloween episode, then there was the one when Mordecai and Rigby changed into ghosts to go to Muscleman's party, plus Fives relatives…they all didn't have legs but then there was Uncle Steve. He had legs and even though I think he is a zombie, he could also fly and make his image appear on multiple surfaces…interesting. Hm, and you can't forget about Muscle Dad. He also has legs but the only difference is that he emanates a green aura… That's when I got to thinking that there must be two types of ghost in Regular Show. One's with unfinished business like Steve (with him wanting to give Mordecai his $5) and Muscle Dad (who pops up every now and again to help his son out) and other that just roam around like Fives (which I'm still wondering why his spirit wasn't taken by Death)**

**[8] An actual quote from the Christmas Carol. Had to take time to credit Charles Dickens for that **

**[9] Katie= I had Low Fives have a daughter in this story. I think she's about 3-5 years old now, in my story**

**[10] In Rigby's eternal prison, ironically, he is stuck in his old room at the Mental Hospital. And in that prison that no mortals could see, are two guard demons that have one soul purpose and that's to torture Rigby and keep him locked up. When Rigby escaped, he still was chained to his prison so when he was dragged back, he was given a lash for every second he was gone which would add up to 9,000 lashes…ouch. I know he's a ghost and he shouldn't feel pain but ghost could hurt other ghosts so… **

**[11] Might as well tell you this now. Just like in the real world, there are some people that could see/hear spirits and some that can't. So while the staff that work in the mental hospital can't hear the screams or see that Rigby is trapped in that room, the patients and some other people outside of the hospital can**

**Note: They're not supposed to hear Rigby, in particular though. More will be explained in the next chapter**

**[12] If you want to have an idea of how that scream sounded like, think of the movie The Princess Bride when Wesley was taken to be tortured in the Pit of Despair. Prince Humperdinck came to the pit after getting insulted by Buttercup and cranked Count Rugen's life draining machine (that was attached to Wesley) up to fifty in a fit of rage. And that scream he let out...man, it was...damn, it sounded painful...perfect for this moment in time though **

**P.S. Thank you my old fans Da 0122, smilehehe27, and RegularShowFan1592, and the newbie Dr-Nemo and "p" for the feedback. Razgriz9718 and Psychological, I see ya too :) Still looking forward to hearing what you think about this one**


	4. Ch 3: Setting The Stage

**_A/N: DEATH IS PROMISED TO ALL OF US WHILE LIFE IS JUST A GIFT. UNFORTUNATELY, THE GIFT OF HAVING THE OWNERSHIP OF REGULAR SHOW WASN'T GIVEN TO ME :(_**

_**P.S. Good evening, Darlings. I see that…**_

_**[Blue] Get me out of here! **_

_**[Scarlet] No, you tried to hurt me with a bat **_

_**[Blue] You're so lucky I'm in this small-ass cage, then I'd do more than that!**_

_**[Scarlet] You're lucky I didn't slice you to bits. Now be quiet before I change my mind **_

_**[**__**Blue] Yeah, come at me, so I could smash your face in! (Scarlet shrinks the cage more so Blue had to sit in order to not get crushed) **_

_**[Scarlet] (Sigh) Anyway, as I was saying- **_

_**[Blue] I'm going to murder you for killing Eileen! **_

_**[Scarlet] Shut up! I'm trying to narrate! (stabs Blue's stomach). Damn it, now look what you made me do…you made me exceed the author note limit…**_

* * *

**_A Regular Christmas Carol_**

**Chapter 3:**

_Setting the Stage_

The Coffee Shop had never seen so many people in front of its doors since two decades ago. Too bad they weren't there to buy coffee, no. Instead, they were gathered in front to see the carnage that was displayed at the street corner. So after a while, the crowd was growing too large and the police was forcing people to back up as they tried to wrap the perimeter of the crime scene with yellow tape

Meanwhile, there was an officer questioning the person driving the truck while a local news crew tried to get in on the scoop

"Well, it looks like your blood-alcohol levels are under the limit" said the officer

"See, I told you I wasn't drunk" said the trucker

"Well, I'll still have to take you into the station for farther questioning"

"What" the trucker said as his hands were being put behind his back "I told, it's not my fault. She just randomly walked into the street on a green light, I swear!"

"Sorry sir but until we confirm this, we have to put you under arrest. But don't worry, if what you're saying is true, the street cameras should be in your favor"

**Unknown POV:**

** '**Poor girl; filled with so much hope and purpose. It's a shame, really. Oh well, these papers won't deliver themselves'

**/||||||||||||||/**

When I got to the park, I started to get nostalgia as I walked through the dark, quiet paths

'It's amazing. I haven't been here in years and yet I feel like I could walk these paths blindfolded. It's amazing how Mordecai has been managing this place and succeeded in keep everything pretty much the same. The grass was still cut nicely, the bushes were neatly trimmed, the snack bar was still its small boring self, Muscleman still seems to live here in his same beat up trailer…'

After I pasted Muscleman's trailer, I finally arrived at the infamous park house

'Wow, it's like this park is stuck in a time warp. I can't believe its still standing. Even the cart is still here' I thought when I saw the cart parked in front of the garage

As I walked up the steps, I felt my hand drag along the banister

'Just to think. This is where it all started; where everybody's life changed. So many memories are held in these walls and floorboards. I could still hear the laughs as well as the screams that echoed in this building'

Once I got to the front door, I placed a note on top of the pile of papers and rang the doorbell. After waiting a few seconds, I heard some footsteps and hid from sight by turning invisible. The last I need is Pops dying from a heart attack from seeing me

When the door opened, Pops popped his big head from the door and scanned the area

"Hm, I could have swore I heard bell that tells us that someone is at the door ring" Pops said. That's when he looked down and noticed the pile of papers at his doorstep "What is this, now?" He picked up the script and saw the note pinned on it; he read it out loud:

"_Dear Pops,_

_Here is the script that was promised. I wish I could stay but I have some important business to attend to because things have changed and I have to fix these alterations. I'll get in contact with you when I'm done so we could discuss things_

_P.S. Sorry about the blood on some of the pages. There was an accident by the Coffee Shop and some of the pages went rogue"_

Pops put the note in his pocket and walked inside the house with the script but before he shut the door, I was able to hear him say

"This must have been from Eileen. Aw, I wish she didn't have to be so busy. I would have gladly gave her some of the clam chowder I was making…[Sigh] Poor thing, she really shouldn't work herself so hard"

'[Sigh] Too bad that's exactly what happened' I thought

**/|||||||||||||/**

I found myself going back to the coffee shop where the ruckus seemed to die down. However, the street was still blocked off and a handful of cops still remained at the bloody street corner. Despite how bittersweet this was, I couldn't help but smile

'It's amazing how I'm looking at it with my own eyes and yet it's still hard to believe that I'm finally free' I know it was bad for me to think this but I couldn't get over the slight satisfaction I was feeling in chest for once. I wasn't gasping for air, my chest wasn't feeling like it was being crushed…I wasn't suffering. This made me feel so warm inside, despite the fact that it was impossible in my case. I could now go places without pain or fear keeping me from doing so 'Liberation never felt so pleasant…'

In the middle of my thoughts, I happened to hear a siren go off and my attention was brought to the commotion happening at the street corner. I felt my smile fade and I let out a big sigh, inhaled the air I obviously didn't need and floated up to the roof of the coffee shop where I stared at the scene displayed below me. I leaned forward so my head was resting on my hands and my elbows were on my thighs. After that I let out a sigh and thought...

'I wonder how the others are going to take this' Even though I felt happy about the perks of being a ghost, I still couldn't help but think of what would happen after everyone discovers that I'm…

'So this is what you've been reduced to, huh?' I heard in my head. I turned from the scene below, looked around and to my surprise, there was a figure sitting next to me. I don't know whether it was because it was night time or what but for some reason, I couldn't see his features. All I could see was this black shadowy figure that had a voice that I remember oh too well 'I told you to stay put'

I watched as his head looked in the direction of the dead corpse below and his feet dangling over the edge. Then without warning, he leaned forward so much that he fell off the edge. I tried to grab him but my hand phased right through him and he went right through the pavement below

I know that he's already dead but it was a natural instinct and seeing that had my heart racing (if I had one) until I felt something wrap around me that caused me to feel discomfort; they were chains

'I told you not to go. Now look what happened' he said in a threating tone (still in my mind)

"What's your deal? The script is delivered so now things could go forward" I told him but the chains only got tighter "What are you so angry about? We could still save Mordecai. It's not like the plan has changed" Everything was silent for a second until I heard in my head

'You just don't get it, do you…everything has changed'

'I just don't get it' I though to myself 'What could possibly be making Rigby this upset? I finally got the script to Pops so nothing else should matter to him. I was doing what I promised to help him do. Should that be enough for him? Why should it matter that I'm dead now. It's not like it'll interfere with anything that I've planned…'

That's when my eyes fell on the street corner again; on the truck with blood on its grill, on the limb body on the pavement. That sad bag of flesh with broken glasses, broken bones and was red all over…

"I know me being dead wasn't a part of your plans because it wasn't in mine either…Sorry if this hurts you" That's when I felt the chains becoming softer; morphing themselves into what looked like arms (they were still shadowy so the features on his arms didn't show). It almost felt like he was embracing me from behind and for that moment I froze. For eighteen years, I had reframed from having him tough me; let alone hug me but here I was now, letting him. Even when I felt him rest his head on my right shoulder, I didn't flinch because I was still in shock

'You'd like to think that, wouldn't you, Eileen?' He whispered as he traced his fingers on my stomach 'But in fact, you just made things a hell of a lot harder'

And just like that, he let go of me. I looked behind me to see his face but I only caught a glimpse of him being pulled away by his chains; disappearing into the night

~* { )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( } *~

**3****rd**** Person POV: July 2**

The past two days has been nothing but planning and getting things set up and today was no different. This whole weekend, Pops has been making costumes for everyone and helping Eileen revive her script (because a few things had to be altered since Mordecai's dialog might vary). Because of this, the cast will have to improvise half their lines

"Wow, I haven't orchestrated a play in ages. I almost forgot the joys of acting; shedding your skin and becoming someone else, traveling through many lands and having countless adventures while staying one place, it makes all tingly inside just thinking about it" Pops said as he was sewing a white flowing garment together while sitting on his bed

"I'm excited too but I wouldn't say that too loud. Mordecai could still be nearby and I don't want him to hear you" Eileen said also sitting on the bed

Even though it was risky coming here in the day time, she only wanted to check on Pops to see how he was coming along. So far, he had finished two out of three costumes with Eileen's help and he was working on the last one as we speak

"Quite right, I do apologize" he said in a softer voice. When he was done with his stitch, he held up the gown in Eileen's view and gave it a nod of approval "Ok, now for the embroidery" he said to himself

"Ok, it seems that everything is going well here" Eileen said while looking at her notepad "Next, I have to check on-" She was about to leave when Pops said

"Wait" He pulled out his wallet and pulled out a butterscotch lollipop "I know that you're a ghost but even so, you shouldn't work yourself so hard. You could still hurt yourself with stress. [Sigh] You're probably not going to listen to my words and spend many hours trying to tightening loose ends but at least take this. Usually when I feel frazzled, sweets usually perk up my spirits"

He handed her the lollipop and she thanked him before turning invisible and leaving (she didn't want to risk Mordecai seeing her). She made herself scarce from the park and soon was on her way to little house on the other side of town. It was blue with a white screen door. It was only one story high and had a small front yard with bushes under the windows

Eileen didn't bother knocking because she knew that the person inside wouldn't answer it anyway. After all, she was taking a sick day from work because of the grief she was experiencing. Eileen thought out of all the people she knew (besides her parents) she thought Pops would be the most grief-stricken (considering the past loss of his father, and all). Instead, he wound up accepting the fact that she was a ghost and even offered her some left over clam chowder [1]. It was CJ that broke down and almost went into depression when she found out what happened on the news. So now, Eileen had to cheer her up so this plan could continue

When Eileen phased through the door, the interior was clean and spotless. There was no broken furniture and things were in their respectful places. Everything seemed normal...except for this dark, dreary aura that lingered in this house that made it known that all wasn't well in this living space

With no sign of CJ in the living room or kitchen, Eileen checked the bedroom and still there was no sign of CJ. Eileen was starting to get worried until she heard a sound come from the bathroom

**CJ POV:**

I don't know how long I was laying here but I know that it was long enough for me start feeling its effects. I had the window closed and the door locked. The shower curtain was wide open and there were special candles on the perimeter of bathtub where I laid motionless

This room was starting to feel hotter than it was outside. I could feel the air thinning as the flames just ate way at it. At the same time, I started to feel weaker as I laid there in the empty tub; letting the oxygen be drained out of me. After all, I didn't need it. Not anymore

'It's all my fault…I'm such a failure…I work at some dead-end job, barely able to support myself, and everything I set my mind to blows up in my face…'

**~Vocal Flashback~**

_ "__You lazy good for nothing. Get out of this bed. I don't give a damn if you're depressed about being rejected by three colleges. You're not going to sit around here and take up space. Not without paying for your keep, you're not" -Father_

_…__.._

_ "__You're fired! I don't need slackers ruining my business…You're fired! The last thing I need is a moody, clumsy waitress constantly breaking thing and picking fights with customers… You're fired! Sleep on your time, you useless piece of shit…" -Past Employers_

_…__.._

_ "__You're cool and all but you're too hi-maintenance for me…Crazy bitch, I don't want you anymore…Sara is way prettier than you. In fact, I don't need to worry about her 'blowing' a hissy fit and destroying my house a billion times…Ha, you really thought I loved you? Can't you tell when you're a side bitch…You're an awesome friend but I already told you that I wasn't interested in dating" -Past Lovers_

_.…._

_ "__I'm so tired of you coming in my office. I've told you a dozen times that I don't want to hang out, I don't want to be friends, I don't even want to see you anymore! Can't you tell when you're not wanted!...Well you thought wrong, you pitiful parasite…[Groan] Why am I even wasting my time arguing with you. Time is valuable to me and I won't waste another second on something petty as you. Get out of my office…I SAID GET OUT, YOU WASTE OF SPACE!" -Mordecai_

_…__.._

_ "I'm not a charity CJ…__Nah I got this…I'll tell you the rest of the plan when I finalize everything in my head. See you later" -Eileen_

_ "__Good evening, I am Savannah Foster and I'm in the local town of Twin Peaks on the corner of Pine and Bay St. and behind me is where the accident involving a truck hitting a pedestrian took place; rendering the pedestrian dead upon impact. So far, police were only able to identify the pedestrian to be a mole by the name of Eileen Roberts (age 30). The police are still trying investigating this incident while the driver of the vehicle is being kept at the station until farther notice. So whether this was an act of carelessness or suicide is unknown at this point but more updates on this story will be shown at eleven. This is Savannah Foster of Sparks News signing off" -News Report_

**~End Vocal Flashback~**

'If only my cousin didn't have to die a few days ago. If only I didn't have to go to that funeral. Then maybe…'

"[Sob & wails] Oh Eileen, I'm so sorry! It's all my fault. I should have been there" I felt my eyes burning because they desperately wanted to release some tears but most of the moisture in me had evaporated already; so much that I couldn't spark up a storm when I normally feel this way. Instead, my skin just turned a dark grayish maroon and became less dense

'I'm such a terrible friend. I couldn't help Mordecai in his time of need, I let Eileen down. What's the sense of me existing when I only mess things up?'

I put my hand on the surface of the hot tub and watched as it disappeared on contact

"I'm just a waste of space that doesn't deserve to exist"

Half of my body had dissipated and was eaten up by the flames on the candles. Yeah it hurt but it would only be a bit longer until this would all be over

"I'm sorry everyone…" I whispered

I closed my eyes and surprisingly I could see right through them now. My legs were completely gone and all that was left was my upper torso and fragments of my head. The parts of me that still had feeling was burning up and I didn't even have the strength to turn over. My throat was so dry that talking felt impossible now. My chest desperately rose and fell; trying to get some oxygen flowing through it but the flames denied it so

'This is it'

Without warning, I felt this slight gust of wind blow out all of the candles and knock them on the floor. I wanted to look to see what was going on but I was too weak to move. Despite the candles being removed, I still felt like I was fading and it was only a matter of seconds before my conscious would fade along with it

Seconds later, the space I was in was dark due to the shower curtain closing unexpectedly. That's when the shower head turned on and hot water started to sprinkle on me. To my aching body, that was a relief and soon my body started to form oxygen from the water being provided to it and soon it regenerated the faded cloud tissue I had lost [2]

While my body was happy to be replenished, my heart wasn't. I didn't want this. I didn't want to be a part of a world that didn't want me; didn't need me. I didn't want to be around when I only made things worse. Where trying only brought me deeper in shit and not trying lead to ridicule. Where life hated me and only laughed in my face. Where one second of happiness would be crushed in the next. Where I'm just a waste of space

When I felt my body floating to the ceiling, I turned on the cold water and my body become more dense until I was my old retched self again. I then turned on the water and was about to step out of the tub in anger until I opened the curtain to find someone staring at me with vexed eyes

I jumped back in fear and almost slipped and broke my ass. After all, I didn't sense anyone's presence this whole entire time so seeing someone there freaked me out. As I tried to compose myself, the figure didn't move or blink as its eyes stared at me. It just stood there glowing this green aura

When I assumed that the ghost wouldn't move, I started to notice something familiar about it; from its glasses to its hair with the one ponytail to the side…

"Eileen?" I whispered

When she heard me, she didn't move at first but then she opened her mouth and said

"Are you done...grieving?" I couldn't find the words to say so I just give the specter a small nod "Good" That's when I felt a sharp pain hit my face. I quickly put my hand on my cheek and I was soon face to face with the ghost; no more than two inches from my nose "Don't you ever pull a stunt like that again!"

'What was she saying? If anything, I should be telling her that'

"I heard that" the ghost said and turned her head to create some distance between us

'What are you reading my head or something?' I thought

"Yes, I am…What made you think that just because I'm not alive anymore gave you the right to end your life? What were you thinking? Just because I'm not here in my earthly skin doesn't mean I would want you to shed yours. Right now, I'm dealing with people grieving because they feel guilty or pity; my parents and family, Don, you, even Rigby hates me for dying. The last thing I want is for you to put yourself and others through the same pain"

"What others? No one wants me here so why be here if that's the case?" When I said that, I felt her slap me in the same spot again

"Do you hear yourself. Look at me" I turned my head back to her heated gaze and she said "I want you here. Do you think I want to see you hurt yourself and at my expense? So what if your father disapproves of you. Is it too late to prove him wrong? So what if you've been fired numerous times by employers. You're working now. So what if you tried and got rejected by three colleges. There are tons out there and there is bound to be one that would accept you and your digital design skills [3]. You just need to keep working at it and find the right one for you. And so what if every guy you tried dating either turned you down or cheated on you. That's in past. It only means that that person wasn't right for you and the right one might still be out there. You just haven't found him yet or he wasn't ready for you at the time...Just hearing those snippets a few minutes ago tells me that there was a lot more pain you were hovering that you let me in on and still when you're around people, you're so kind and a pleasant to be around. If you think no one else thinks so, you at least have my word to go by because in my opinion, I think that you're such an amazing person and the last thing I want you to do is throw that away. What happened when you told me that you weren't going to stop trying?" I remembered back when we were on the phone a few days ago

_'…__That's a road I fear may lead to nowhere. I've tried so many times and every time I've failed. You could bet though that I'm not going to give up but uhhhh!...' _

Even we were talking about Mordecai, I couldn't help but think about it now

"You still have potential, CJ" Eileen continued "I've seen it, it's there. There are also plenty of guys out there; and I believe there is one made especially for you. You just need to wait for him. Just think of how long it took for Rigby to notice me. To be honest, I thought that he would never give me a second glance until poof, it happened out of nowhere. Sometimes good things in life happen the same way and come when you least expect it. But in exchange, you have to be around for it to happen, ok"

I didn't know what say because deep down, I wanted to believe Eileen's words but I still had my doubts. After all, how would she know that I would find someone that would love for who I am? How would she know that I would make something of myself when I've been shot down so many times? Who would ever need me?

"I need you" Eileen said reading my thoughts again

"You still talking about that plan you have to get Mordecai acting like himself again?"

"Yes, but even after that is all said and done, I would like you to still be here. After all, you're a pretty awesome friend. Even if can't the different between June and December" Eileen had her hand stretched out to me like she was ready to shake my hand but I pull her close and embraced her. I tried to hold back my tears but they came out anyway

"Thanks Ellie" I told her

'Thanks for believing in me…even when I still don't believe in myself'

"Um, CJ. Could you let me go now?"

"Aw, but I never got to really hug you when you were sick"

"True but it's kind of awkward doing that when you're naked" I looked down and saw my clothes on the floor of the tub; drenched in water. I immediately released her when I became aware of this and covered half myself with the shower curtain

"Oops, sorry"

~* { )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( } *~

**3****rd**** Person POV:**

After Eileen finished consoling CJ, she gave her some more insight on her plan to getting the old Mordecai back. She still didn't tell her that Mordecai was scheduled to die on the fourth but she did tell her why she wanted her have a party on the fourth

_'…__After the second phase is complete, I want him to have an opportunity to mend his ways and act like his old self again. So what better way than to invite him to a party where he could be loose and not rigid like he is in his office…'_

When Eileen was sure that CJ had everything under control and was still on board, she left her to planning out who to invite and getting her house ready for a huge party

"Ok, now that that is done, all I need now is to check on two more people and then I could rest a bit" Eileen said to herself as she made her way back to the park

Since it was 5:30pm, she was sure that Mordecai was gone by now so she thought it would be safe now to check on Skips and Techmo. And sure enough, they were outside working one something

"Hey guys, what's this you're building?" Eileen asked them

"I'm making some modifications to the house" Skips told her "Techmo told me that he would need some more space and exits for his little gadget to work so…"

"Oh, ok" Eileen walked around the huge structure and studied it "So how are you going to conceal this?"

"I've got that covered" Techmo said while he was tightening some screws on what looked like to be a remote of some kind "Watch this" He pointed the remote at a random bush and pressed a button. Then a beam shot out of it and the bush disappeared

"Wow, is that a teleporter or something?"

"No, the bush is just invisible" Eileen put her hand where the bush was suppose to be and felt nothing

"Then why can't I feel it"

"That's just it. The molecules of the bush have been scatters so the bush appears invisible. It's molecular parts are still in this area but since you can't feel atoms separately by themselves, it would appear that it isn't there. However, when I press this reverse button-" he pressed the button on the remote "the bush rearranges its molecules back together to form the bush; exactly as it was before"

"Cool" that's when Eileen notice the remote had a mess full of buttons on it and she wondered "Is there anything else that it could do?"

"Tons but you'll just have to wait for tomorrow to see it in action; still working out the kinks"

"Alright"

**/|||||||||||/**

**Eileen POV:**

Things seemed to be going well with Techmo and Skips so I left them alone to finish up their work. Meanwhile, I stayed at the park and found a bench to sit on by a light post (since it looked like it was going to be dark soon). After I sat down, I took out the lollipop Pops gave me and popped it in my mouth while I looked over the script again. Even though things looked like they were going smoothly, there was still one thing that had me feeling apprehensive about tomorrow night

"Hey Eileen" I heard someone call out to me "What are you still doing out here by yourself in the dark?" When he got closer and sat next to me, I saw that it was Fives. I took the lollipop out of my mouth for a second and looked at the ghost that decided to join me

"Just looking over some things" I said showing him my script

"So how is that going?"

"Things are coming together" I said not as enthusiastic as I hoped "I can't believe that tomorrow night is show time"

"Getting nervous?"

"Not really. Everyone knows their lines inside and out, the costumes are pretty much done, our set should be done for tomorrow and Mordecai has no clue about anything"

"And yet you're still worried about something…It wouldn't happen to be about a certain raccoon, would it?"

"Funny, I thought that you weren't one of those ghosts that could read minds"

"I'm not but it's written all over your face" I let out a sigh and rested my head in my left hand

"I'm just anxious is all. Ever since I died, he has been escaping his prison a lot more often and even though I can't see through his shadowy figure, I could tell that he's getting…weaker or something. He's going to need all of his strength for tomorrow and he knows it, and yet he risks coming out just to annoy me when I'm trying to rest"

"Hmm" Fives said with a smile

"Yet he tells me that me dying made things a heck of a harder however he's making things harder for himself by doing this...He could be so confusing sometimes" I started to hear Fives snicker. I stopped my ranting and looked at him "And what's so funny" He put on a straight face and looked at me

"Tell me, do you know what's going to happen when you're done with this plan thing?"

"Well, hopefully Mordecai will see the error of his ways and-"

"I'm not talking about him. I'm talking about you"

"Um, I don't know. I'm guessing I'm going to lose my legs"

"You're on the right track. You see, when a ghost is done fulfilling their unfinished business, they lose their legs and turn into a spirit. After that, they are immediately transported to the other world where they remain forever…So simply put, the fourth is probably going to be your last day here"

'I never thought of that' I thought to myself

Fives looked straight ahead and put a serious tone in voice while still maintaining his smile and told me

"With that in mind, I'm not surprised by Rigby's actions…with you leaving and all"

That hit me like a ton of brick. I found myself gripping the wood of the bench underneath me as I tried to processed all of this. This was really going to complicate things because I really wasn't planning to leave just yet. But what was I going to do about it?

"Is there any way to prolong this?"

"Yeah but few ghosts do"

"Do what exactly?"

"Turn down Paradise. When a ghost is whisked away from this world, in your case, you would be sent upstairs. When ghosts get to that stage, they get a glimpse of what's behind a gate and you could choose to go through it or not. Just to say, from experience, it's not easy to just say no and go back to earth because I've seen ghosts with so much to hold on to and still choose paradise over staying down here [4] so whether you're bonds here are strong enough or not, I don't know. It's all up to you and how much you really want to stay here" Hearing his words was like having reality slap me in the face

'I guess there is only one thing to do' I thought

I got up and Fives followed me until I found Skips still standing in front of the park house. He was waving bye to Techmo as he rode off in DeLorean

"Skips, can I ask you something?" I asked him

"Sure"

"I need to find a way to bust Rigby out of his prison"

"But that's impossible" Fives said "Once the sentence is final, there is no reversing it"

"Fives is right" Skips agreed

"Skips, I know that you know some unearthly methods we could try" I insisted

"Sorry, Eileen but I wouldn't know how to do that sort of exorcism. Things like that are in Death's department and I doubt that he'll give you that information willingly" Skip told me

"Well, we'll see about that"

**/||||||||||||/**

It took a while but Skips drew a summoning circle on the ground and sat in the center. He started to chant some words I couldn't understand and soon Skips glowed a bright blue color; so did his eyes

"Alo, who's this?" I don't know where his voice was coming from but we could suddenly hear Death's voice (sounding aggravated)

"It's Skips" Skips replied

"Skips, what in blazes are you calling my house for?"

"I need to ask you about something. Something involving-" That's when we heard a muffled female voice in the background. It sounded annoyed

"I'll be right there" Death whispered. That's when Skips's blue aura disappeared and so did the circle on the ground

"He should be coming soon" Skips said standing up from his sitting position

That's when we saw a green portal open a few feet from us and a skeleton ride a motorcycle through it. He had on a long black robe, long brown hair tied in a low ponytail, and a scythe strapped to his back

"Wow, I've never seen you wear the traditional reaper uniform" Skips said with a hint of mockery in his voice

"I'm not wearing the tradition grab. This is just my nightwear" Death told him "Even reapers have to go to bed sometime"

"If that was the case, I'm surprised that you came"

"Um, let's just say that you called at a good time [5]. Now...what do you want?"

"We need you to tell us how to exorcise a certain ghost"

"Is that all? Why are you wasting my time on something you could call a priest for?"

"But this involves getting a ghost out of purgatory prison"

"Oh woah, woah, woah. That's out of my jurisdiction. Besides, I don't exactly like you Skips. So give me one reason why I should help you"

"Well, we could make a wager"

"Like the usual of me finally claiming your soul? Well, considering that I'm still recovering from Thomas going through his little tantrums, I don't feel like going through any physical challenges tonight" Death said rubbing his temples

"Well, what if we raise the stakes by me offering mine" I offered

"You? Listen girly, I've already reaped you so what worth is your soul to me?" Death told me while casting my offer aside

"That may be true but isn't it also true that you can't back down from a wager?"

"Not exactly, but out of curiosity, what would you propose to spark my interest, girly?"

"Simple, I challenge you to a battle of wits. There'll be no tricks or physical activities; just you trying to outwit me. I'll even let you pick the terms, the stakes and challenge we do but only if there is a possibility of winning"

"Ok girly, how about this-"

Death used his scythe to cut through the air. This caused three black boxes with lids on them to appear and settle on the ground. Each one of them had a tag on them; each saying something different

"-I have three boxes and in each box are two soul orbs. On top of each box is a label that marks what's inside but I must warn you, all of the labels are switched-"

I read the labels and the first one said _Two Green, _the second one said _Two Red, _ and the third said _One Green, One Red_

"-Your job is to figure out which label goes to which box but think carefully since you only have one shot to get it right because if you get it wrong, your and Skips's soul are mine. And trust me, while Skips's soul will be hanging proudly in one of my soul balls, I'll be putting you to work for the rest of eternity, future maid"

I started to ponder the possibilities of winning and things were tilting towards his favor. After all, this was more of a game of chance than skill

"Hm, this is more of a guessing game than a battle of wits. This is simply impossible if we don't have a clue as to where the right label goes" I said questioning Death

"Alright, I'll give you this option then. I'll let you choose any of the three boxes to open and you'll be able to look at one orb and put it back but in exchange, I'll bring back one of your three things that tormented you when you were alive. Open up a second box or look at more than one orb will cost you the game and your souls will be mine"

As much as I didn't like the stakes, I said "It's a deal"

So I sat down and got out my notepad and physically wrote the possibilities down (which totaled two). I stared and tried to find a logical solution to chose which one was correct but there was no way I could be positive without the clue...I needed to peek

"Alright, I guess I don't have any other alternative" I got up and walked towards the boxes

"Eileen, wait" Fives said holding onto my arm "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"It's not like I have much of a choice, do I?"

"But you'll get hurt for sure"

"I don't care" I said pulling my arm away from his grip "[Sigh] I'm not going to leave things up to chance when there is too much at stake. I can't offer to lose so guessing isn't option" That's when I opened the box that said _One Green, One Red_ and pulled out a red glass orb. I put the orb back and began to walk back to Fives. However, after I took two steps, I felt a slight pain on my chest and back for a second

Thinking that it was over, I brushed it off and started to walking again until I felt the same pain but with a greater force behind it. I clutched onto my chest and soon I found myself faltering. By this time I figured out what Death brought upon me and that was my scars. Each and every one was forming on chest and back and the pain was excruciating

'It's ok. I've been through this before. I could handle this. I could get through this is' I tried to encourage myself but then I started to feel my throat clog up, and my head pounding and soon I was coughing up blood 'What is this? He never cut-'

Before I could finish my thought, I recalled when Rigby cut out my hatred

'He's including those too? [Groan] Damn it. It's one thing that I still felt it when I was asleep the first time. Now I'm awake and ahhh…I never knew he plunged so deep'

My body collapsed on the floor and I expected Fives and Skips to help me but they just stood there like everything was fine and dandy. I wanted to call out to them but I felt my throat constrict

"Oh, looking for Skips and Fives to help you?" Death said in a taunting voice "Sorry girly, but this competition is strictly between you and me so until you place the labels in their respectable places; they can't see your pain"

"What about this not being physical?" I managed to say

"Yeah, those were the terms before you agreed for me to bring back any one of the pains you had when you were alive so that kicks your 'nothing physical' rule out the window, now doesn't it?"

"[Groan] I should have known that you wouldn't play fair. Especially with Skips's soul on the line" I said as I struggled to get up and failed

"Ha, excuses, excuses. I'm hearing a lot of complaining and no action. If I were you, I would get to switching those labels because if you pass out, which will be soon, I'll consider it to be a forfeit on your end"

With that in mind, I tried again to get up but my chest started to cave in, forcing me to stay down

'What am I going to do?' I thought to myself 'I feel myself fading with each passing second. But I can't give up now' I tried to get up again but the pain in my chest got worst (due to the deep stab wound I had in it) '[Groan] Damn it'

"Come on girly. Time is ticking" Death said continuing to verbally pour salt on the wound "What's wrong? Can't take a few scars? How pathetic. And to think, all of this to release a poor excuse of a raccoon. What a joke"

"Shut up" I whispered

"Or what? It's not like you could do anything about it. Just face it, you messed up. It's over. You're finished. Your plans to save Mordecai have crashed and burned-"

"Shut up" I said louder

"-and soon, your and Skips's soul will be mine. And Rigby is going to stay in that prison and suffer like the useless, wicked, pitiful raccoon he-"

"Shut up!" I yelled

I used what little strength I had and rolled on my stomach. It cost in me coughing up blood again but I ignored it. I put all my weight on my right elbow and I wiggled from the pressure, but it held long enough for my left elbow and knee to prop itself up; followed by my right knee

"Don't you dare underestimate me" I managed to say to Death while I slowly began to crawl back towards the boxes "You think that because your 'Death' that you could ridicule me, my ideals, and the people I care about?" When I was close to the boxes, I sat up on my knees and took the _One Green, One Red_ off the third box and put the _Two Red_ label in its place (if it wasn't one green/one red, it had to contain two red orbs since I saw one of them being red) So now I was left with the _Two Green_ label still on the first box and the_ One Green, One Red_ label in my hand "Well, I got news for you. My plans are not dead and I'm sure as hell am not going to go back on my word. Not while I'm still conscious" I then took the _Two Green_ label off the first box and put it on the only other spot it could go which was the second box (since it can't stay on the first box and the third box was already taken). All that was left was to put the _One Green, One Red _label that was in my hand on the first box

After that was done, I managed to prop my right foot up and lift myself to my feet

"This is my final answer. Check them" I said with a hint of sternness in my voice because I was tired of him toying with me

The smile that was once on his face turned into a blank expression. He lifted up his hands which caused the lids to open and the orbs to float up in the air to reveal that I got the right answer

"[Groan] Looks like you win girly" Death snapped his fingers and soon I heard Fives yell

"Eileen!" He floated to my side with Skips close behind "What did he do to you?" He said while staring at my blood seeping out of my shirt, throat, head, and mouth

"That's not important" I said to him while staggering a bit; due to the sudden depletion of adrenaline in my body so Fives did his best to prop my body up "Now…Death, how are you holding up your end of the deal?"

"To be honest, I don't have a clue-" Death began to say

"What! You put me through all that shit just for you to say that you haven't a clue!" I said practically ready to rip his head off

"Eileen, calm down. Ghost wounds don't heal as fast of living beings do so take it easy" Fives said

"Death, I know there's some way to go about this" Skips said not convinced by Death's answer

"Well, there is one way but it's something I wouldn't resort in trying if I were you. It could result in that raccoon being erased from existence, you two being trapped in the prison with him" Death said pointing to Fives and me "or me losing my job"

* * *

**A/N: Ha ha, Cliffhanger. So will Eileen, Fives, and Skips figure out how to get Rigby out of his prison or will it all end in disaster? **

**Blue: Yay, Eileen is ok :) Somewhat**

**Scarlet: Yeah, yeah, yeah, now be quiet. This is my time to talk…now what was I about to say? Damn it, I forgot**

**Blue: We could always talk about what Regular Show characters corresponds to what Christmas Carol characters. Like Rigby, he's-**

**(Scarlet tackles Blue)**

**Scarlet: No, no spoilers! All will be revealed at the end!**

***Plus, did anyone get the riddle before the answer was giving?***

**…****..**

**[1] The reason Pops wasn't sad about Eileen being a ghost but at the same time was balling his eyes out at the funeral is because he thinks that Rigby moved on to the other world like his father did. Since Mr. Maellard had everything he could ever want when he was alive, he found no reason to stay in the land of the living; saying that '[he] exhausted the benefits of this world long enough. Time to move on to bigger and better things'**

**[2] The quandary of trying to figure out how to kill a cloud humanoid was a tough one (not that I don't like CJ. That is not the case). The answer surprising came to me from watching the movie Ghost Rider. There was a scene when Johnny Cash fought one of the fallen angels (the air demon) and he uses fire to suck him into a fiery vortex thing. With that in mind, that made me remember that fire pretty much consumes oxygen so if I could get rid of the moisture in CJ's cloud tissue then she'll be vulnerable to fire eating her remains; that's where the 'special' candles come in. They were used to get rid of the oxygen in the room; rendering her powerless and weak and to simply make it hot in the room (along with the heat of the July weather)…Phew, so much sciences was involved in this simple suicide/reviving scene…wow, now that I think of it, this is the second story that I had CJ be suicidal in. I wonder why? **

**[3] I wanted CJ to have a passion so I thought of all the stuff she likes to do and the one that struck me was video games. She could be skilled at designing video games…she could **

**[4] Since this chapter was starting to get long, I cut out the explanation of how Fives has no legs and is able to go from the other world and back. Simply put, the bond that was strong enough to let him stay in the land of the living was the bond with his mother. They say that a bond between a mother and her child is precious and last forever. Despite the fact that he died in the womb, his bond with his mother was still there. And soon when he grew older, he made more bonds with others (Muscleman being one of them) and that was enough for him to linger here to this point in time. And since he technically doesn't have 'unfinished business', he doesn't have legs **

**[5] The reason why Death left his house despite the fact that he was about to go to bed was because of his wife. Hazel wanted to watch a romantic comedy with him but he really didn't want to. So when Skips called, it was a perfect excuse for him to leave the house without having to say 'no, I don't want to watch that fucking movie' to his wife**

**P.S. Thanks for the reviews for the last chapter and thank you for not 'trying' to kill me for killing Eileen. I really didn't feel like murder a whole mob of Eileen-fans. Well, now that you mention it, that doesn't seem like a bad idea...with all the slicing and dismembering and-**

**[POW!]**

**Blue: Sorry about that viewers. Scarlet could get a little carried away at times (She rested her bloody bat on her shoulder and dragged Scarlet away) **

**Hey, I see some more newbies {DimetriWarrior and Cassgon}, welcome aboard this crazy train. Next stop: Ghosts, a Cold-Blooded Blue Jay, and Skateboarders?**


	5. Ch 4: Act 1-Climbing The Walls

**_A/N: TIME IS A COMPLEX NOTATION THAT IS CONSTANTLY MOVING FORWARD. IT HAS THE POWER TO CHANGE PEOPLE AND HEAL WOUNDS BUT NO AMOUNT OF TIME CAN CHANGE THE FACT THAT I DON'T OWN REGULAR SHOW OR THE CHRISTMAS CAROL :(_**

_**P.S. Good Evening Darlings. I bet a lot of you were like "Mordecai is the main character in this story, where is he?" or "This is supposed to be a Christmas Carol crossover/parody. What's so Christmas or Carol-like about it?" Well, if Blue wasn't such an Eileen-fan, we would have been at this stage by now**_

_**Blue: Why are you blaming this on me? **_

_**Scarlet: Well just this once, I'll forgive you for your fandom **_

_**Blue: But you're the one that high jacked my-**_

_**Scarlet: Time to run the chapter…ACTION**_

* * *

**_A Regular Christmas Carol_**

**Chapter 4:**

_Act 1-Climbing The Walls_

**July 3****rd**** (Showtime)**

It was your normal hot summer day in Twin Peaks and while most would be inside in this ninety degree weather, a particular bunch of park employees were outside working. However, luckily it was almost that time of day again when the Park Manager's Assistant would come out and check on them. And who was this person that got lucky enough to move up in ranks? It was none other than a certain goat intern; yep Thomas. How did he get this position you ask? Over the years, Thomas had stepped up to the plate and shown his many talents and useful assets to the park which didn't go unnoticed. So now besides being his boss's personal secretary, he monitors the park staff on their progress and makes sure they don't cause any trouble

So after organizing some documents into their appropriate files. Thomas walked downstairs and went into the kitchen where there was a rolling cooler. He made sure that it was full of ice and drinks and made his way outside, but not before he took off his turtle neck sweater. Why would Thomas be wearing a sweater in the middle of Summer? His boss likes to keep things cool (like forty degrees cool); even in the winter time so Thomas is forced to bring a sweater (and sometimes a scarf and gloves) everyday to keep from freezing to death

Once the cooler was ready, he set foot outside and immediately was hit with that hot Summer air but he gladly welcomed it

"Well, time to check the staff" he said to himself as he dragged the cooler through the park

**/||||||||||||||/**

It wasn't long before he ran into Pops. He wasn't wearing his usual suit and top hat but in its place was a formal white shirt, khaki shorts, leather three strap sandals, and a sunhat that didn't fit his head at all. Even though this wasn't his normal attire, he was gardening so Thomas thought nothing of it

"Wow, you got a lot more done than I expected. Nice job, Pops" Thomas said congratulating him on his work

"Why thank you, Thomas. I can't wait to see everyone's faces when they see it completed. They will be so thrilled" He said wiping some sweat off of his face

"I'm sure they will" Thomas told him with a cheerful voice "Here, you deserve this" He opened the cooler and pulled out a bottle of lemon iced-tea

"How thoughtful of you, Thomas. You didn't need to go through the trouble to do this"

"It's alright. It wasn't any trouble"

"Either way, I still thank you for this nice gesture, Thomas"

"You're welcome, Pops. Keep up the good work"

"I will" Pops said waving to Thomas as walked done the path

**/||||||||||||||/**

The next person Thomas found working really hard was Muscleman. He was roasting like a pig as he was driving the ride-on lawnmower through the park. Even though he had on a blue short-sleeved shirt, shorts, and a burgundy bandana on his head, you could have swore that he turned three shades greener

"Yo, Muscleman!" Thomas called out. It took a couple of tries for Muscleman to hear him because he had his mp3 player on but he eventually stopped the mower so Thomas could catch up "Here, catch" Thomas threw him a bottle of Crystal Freeze [1] and Muscleman caught it without giving him much attention. He took a sip of the energy drink and reclined in the seat of the mower a bit "So Muscleman, how far did you get?"

"I'll say about half" He said as he took another gulp of the cold blue drink in his hand

"Not bad. Think you'll finish by six?"

"Probably"

"Alright, good" Thomas said closing the cooler "I'll leave you to your work now. Stay hydrated" Thomas then walked off while Muscleman put his headphones back on and continued cutting the grass

**/|||||||||||||||/**

When the path began to broaden, Thomas ended up at the snack bar where Fives was stationed. After two customers bought two fudge-pops, Thomas walked up to the counter and greeted him

"Hey, Fives. You doing alright?"

"Well, I'm surviving. Just got over the rush of people that came during lunchtime. We're practically out of slurpies and other beverages now"

"I'm not surprised. You could probably fry an egg out here...So, I could expect that we did well for today's profit so far"

"Yeah, so much that we'll need to restock again"

"Great, the boss should be happy about this" Thomas said pulling out a cold bottle of water "Here"

"Oh, thanks Thomas" Fives said drinking some "Needed that"

"No problem. Got to make sure the park employees don't collapse out here"

"Man, I miss it when we would get days off when it would get this hot"

"Yeah, me too but because of the Fourth of July firework display tomorrow-"

"Even if there wasn't an important event coming up, he would still have us working out here while he sits in his cold office"

"Trust me, it's not all it's cracked up to be. Sometimes I wish I worked out here like I use to but I need the extra money so…"

"Speaking of that, how the family doing?"

"Great, Thelma is-" Before Thomas could answer Fives's question, his boss called him on his walkie-talkie

"Thomas, where are you?!"

"I'm at the snack bar checking on Fives" Thomas said

"Thomas, its thirty minutes since you left"

"Don't worry, I only have Skips and I'll be-"

"What! It doesn't take more than ten minutes to do your rounds"

"I know sir, but-"

"Thomas, if I don't see you here in this office in ten minutes, YOU'RE FIRED!"

With that, Thomas took off in search of Skips who was building a rig for the fireworks that were supposed to be arriving tomorrow. He was on the west side of the park and from where Thomas's current location, it wasn't far. It was the sprint back to the park house that he was worried about

When he found Skips, he was hammering away at the contraption he was building

"Skips, how is this coming?" Thomas said almost out of breath

"It should be done in an hour or so"

"Awesome" Thomas said throwing Skips a bottle of Ginger-ale

"Hey, Thomas. You alright?" Skips said when he noticed that Thomas was breathing hard

"Yeah, just tired" He said closing the cooler

"Boss getting on your case again?" Skips asked

"Yeah, but it's no big deal"

"Okay…Well I won't hold you up. Thanks for the drink"

"Your welcome, Skips"

After Skips was taken care of, Thomas raced through the park to get back to the park house; breaking one of the wheels on the cooler in the process. So as a result, he had to carry it the rest of the way

When the park house was finally in view, he increased his speed for the final stretch but what he didn't know was that someone was coming along the cross path and soon they collided

"Oh, I'm so sorry" Thomas said grabbing the cooler off the person

"No worries, I'm ok" The voice instantly registering in his memory and he was stricken with fear and excitement. You see, he himself didn't have a problem with this person because there were times when this person would him out when he would get stuck in sticky situations but the fact that his boss didn't exactly like her worried him "Let me guess, your big bad boss is riding you again?"

"Yeah, but you know how he is. He always gets anal when there is an event coming up"

**[PAUSE…his boss is getting on his case a lot for apparent no reason…what were you thinking, you dirty minds :3 …PLAY]**

"Well in that case, do you need some help? I could put this cooler away so you could get back to the park house faster" Thomas thought that it was funny how this was such a regular occurrence that his friend could immediately tell when his boss was threating to firing him. But despite his luck of her showing up, he just knew that this would nip him in the butt later. However, since this was a chance for him to get to the park house quicker, he accepted her offer "Ok but make sure that you leave afterwards, okay. The boss is really not in the mood today"

"Is he ever?" The two of them laughed at that then Thomas took off. When he was inside the house, he left the door open for his friend to come inside. Then he quickly grabbed the green turtle neck sweater and put it back on while running up the stairs. Once he was in front of the office door, he knocked on it

"Come in" his boss said behind the door in a stern voice. Thomas walked in the room and shut the door behind him (but not all the way, unknown to his knowledge). He stood in front of the wooden desk and waited for his boss to turn around and acknowledge him "Three second, Thomas. Three seconds and you would have been fired" Thomas wiped his brow; relieved that he made it in time "So, since you're still employed...status report"

"Pop's is more than half way done with planting flowers along the path that will lead to spectators to the 'hot spot'. Muscleman has got the front part of the lawn completed and is starting on the back as we speak. Fives says that we'll need to restock again so profits are doing well so far at the snack bar. And Skips says he'll be done in an hour with the firework rig"

"Good, good" His boss sounded pleased which put Thomas's mind at ease. However, that sense of reassurance didn't last long "and it took you forty-three minutes to get two minutes worth of information?"

"You see, sir. I was-"

"-just slacking off with the other employees" his boss said inserting what he thought was the proper ending to his sentence while turning around to face his assistant

"I wouldn't call it that, sir. I was doing my job" Thomas said trying to explain him

"Thomas" his boss said while putting his hand on his forehead like he was getting frustrated "I don't pay you to play water boy to my men of labor. I pay you to monitor my groundskeepers and to keep things organized"

"Yes, that's true but you got to admit that's it very hot out there"

"Last time I checked, they're grown-ass men. If they're so thirsty, they could bring their own cold beverage"

While Thomas was being scolded by his boss, Thomas's friend was downstairs putting the cooler in the kitchen

"Sounds like he's at it again" she said with her hand on her forehead and a smile planted on her face "Better save Thomas from his wrath again"

She walked upstairs and the yelling only got louder but when she opened the door, everything went silent

"Wow, with all of this rebuking, I'm surprised that you didn't start throwing stones at him for only giving the others something to drink" Thomas's boss had his back turned to the door so when he heard that voice, he froze "What's wrong, Mordo? Cat got your tongue"

Mordecai slowly turned his head to his assistant and said softly with a hint of anger

"And who let her in? As if I didn't know"

"You see, I needed help with the cooler and-"

"And that's what I'm talking about. If you would have been doing your job instead of doing these 'side agendas', then she wouldn't have gotten in this time now, would she?"

"Hey, I'm still here guys" Thomas's friend said a little insult how Mordecai was talking like she wasn't even there

"Like I didn't notice" Mordecai said sarcastically "Now what do you want this time Ms. Cindy Jane [2]?"

"Woah, you know how I feel about formalities, Mordo" CJ said

"That's Mr. Quintel to you" Mordecai corrected her

"Damn, looks like someone hasn't exposed you to some Christmas cheer yet. You would think with how cold it is in here"

"[Groan] Cindy, it's July [3]" Mordecai tried covering his eyes because he felt like he was going to get a migraine soon (and he only talked to her for only a minute so far)

"So. Who said that you had to wait for December to be merry?"

"Funny, I thought that you had to be happy to be merry. What right do you have to be merry or tell someone to be so when life has been nothing but grim to you?"

"What right do you have to be so pessimistic when you're climbing up the economic ladder and you don't need to worry about your next pay check?" Mordecai calmly walked to the window where he saw Muscleman outside, still on his mower

"I don't see why I shouldn't. We live in a cold world where it's survival of the fittest. Only the strongest make it in this world ruled by money while the weak get crushed" Mordecai's view of his park employee promptly got obstructed when he purposely shut the blinds that were on the window. With the room slight darker, he continued making his point while still keeping his back to CJ "Life doesn't care about the weak scraping for pennies and at this point, neither do I"

"Mordo, you don't mean that"

"Oh, but I do and if I had my way, every slacker and useless pile of shit would be wiped off the face of this earth" Mordecai told her then turned his head to Thomas who was just standing there "Be merry, she says. I'll be merry when I'm not surrounded by a bunch of idiots" He then turned his head to the right and only had his eyes in CJ's direction "and when you stop bothering me with your childish notions"

"[Sigh] Mordecai, I'm just trying to-"

"Why don't you try getting a life and stay out of mine" Mordecai's words cut CJ deep but she still held her ground and retaliated

"What life? The life you have sitting in this office? You barely have a social life when you practically live in this room"

"And it matters to you why, 'person-that-doesn't-know-how-to-mind-her-own-business'?"

"It's not like I have a heart of stone; unlike you"

"If that's the case, why don't you take a hint and leave?" Mordecai said almost smirking

"I will but not before I do what I came here to do"

"Which is?" She pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to him. It was an invitation to a party at her house tomorrow. It was going to be a Winter/Fourth of July themed pool party that would range from 1pm to 12am. She knew that he couldn't make all of it because of the firework thing he had to run but if could make it after the fireworks, that would be great

"Something festive to celebrate the holidays" CJ said when she thought that he finished looking over the filer. Hearing that made Mordecai face-palmed himself

"How many times do I have to tell you, it's July!"

"And your point is?"

"UHHH! Sometimes you could be so dense that I just want to-" While he was emulating struggling her by choke the air, Thomas involuntarily let out a chuckle and Mordecai quickly noticed "You find something to be humorous Thomas?" Mordecai turned his head to his assistance and in the eyes of the nervous goat, his boss looked like he was crazed with anger. Especially when he circled him like a vulture as if he was contemplating what to do with him "Does this seem funny to you?"

"No, of course not, sir" Thomas said trembling

"You sure? I could have swore I hear a snort escape your nose"

"I-I"

"Listen to my words carefully, Thomas. If I hear one more sound, one more noise, if I even hear you breathe, you're going to be laughing yourself to the unemployment line. Do you understand me?!"

"Yes, sir" Thomas said with a defeated tone in his voice

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Poor Mordo. See, this is what I've been talking about. You're so caught up in the dollar signs that you lost all of your cents; letting your anger and insecurities blind you and suppress what's in here" CJ said laying her hands on her chest "This is why I tell you to be merry because without a bit of happiness in your life is a miserable life indeed. Not showing forgiveness and spreading gloom and resentment will only reap the same thing for you in return" CJ walked to the window, opened up the blinds again and saw Pops and Skips walking past the house. She smiled at this and she resumed with saying "This world we live in may be cruel but it's darker when you trap yourself behind walls" After that statement, there was a long silence that filled the small room until Mordecai decided to speak up again

"CJ…get out" He said softly "We're finished here" He closed the blinds again and stood there while CJ walked towards the door; feeling like she was repeatedly hitting a brick wall, not getting anywhere

"Ok, I'm sorry you feel that way; especially when I ask nothing big of you...Just your friendship"

"You still here?"

"I mean really. It baffles me how things have come to this. Where we've become such enemies when I don't even know what happened to have you despise me so. [Sigh] I remember when we would be able to joke around with each other, hang out and just have fun. Now I see that you fear uncertainty and because of that, you fear life too much. As a result, you're primary focus is only getting ahead to the point that your cool old self has been engulfed by this unfeeling stranger...What happened Mordecai? What happened to you?"

"I've changed or in proper terms 'grown-up'; unlike you"

"Hn, was that suppose to be an insult? Because the last time I've checked, being grown-up came with having a life and not letting life have you. But I wouldn't know anything about growing up since I haven't changed" She said sarcastically to the point that she sounded angry but she calmed herself and said "I'll let you get back to your 'life' now. After all, I know how busy you are" CJ opened the door and left these last words before exiting his office as happy and sincere as she could, saying "Oh, and Happy Holidays"

After she left, Mordecai walked to his desk and reclined in his chair before going back to the paperwork while Thomas walked to his small desk across the room. He sat in front of the computer and put on his headset on while looked over the new proposals emailed to the park

**/||||||||||||/**

After ten minutes of working in silence, they hear the buzzard downstairs

"Hello. This is Park Management" Thomas said into the headset

"Yes, this is Sparks Industries. We have an appointment today" said the person on the other end of the intercom

"Sir, it's Sparks Industries" Thomas informed Mordecai

"It's three-fifteen already? Alright, send them up" Mordecai instructed him so Thomas got up out of his chair and walked downstairs to let the men in. When they walked into his office Mordecai was confronted by an ostrich and possum

"Hello, Mr. Quintel I presume" the possum said shaking Mordecai's hand

"Yes" Mordecai confirmed

"It's been a while. Nice to see you again" The ostrich said shaking Mordecai's hand next. Mordecai on the other hand, was confused at this statement because he didn't recognize the two at all

"And you are?"

"Oh you don't remember us. Sorry, I'm Jeremy Smith" said the ostrich

"And I'm Chad Smith" said the possum

"No, relation [4]" they both said together, then pausing for a second to type something on their tablets

"Wait…you're the guys that tried to get a job here years ago"

"Correct" Jeremy said

"Hm" Chad thought out loud "And if I remember correctly, there was a little fellow with you too, right" Just the mention of Rigby made Mordecai burn inside but he kept a relaxed façade and soon rode that anger-wave out

"He's dead" he said plainly with no emotion at all "And I haven't seen him for eighteen years"

"Oh, forgive me, I didn't-" Chad tried to apologize but Mordecai stopped him in his tracks

"No, no, no. It's ok. After all, he's better appreciated in the ground anyway" Mordecai said with no expression whatsoever. This left Chad and Jeremy not knowing how to respond. They felt like they just treaded over dangerous territory until Mordecai said "So what is it that you wanted to ask me?" With that said, Jeremy took the chance to cut to the chase

"Our company wanted to do a charity run to help people suffering with AIDS" he stated followed by his partner adding

"And since this park has more than enough space to hold this event, we want to-" Before Chad could finish, Mordecai interrupted him

"Not interested"

"But this will be beneficial to many people and-" Chad tried to explain but Mordecai stood his ground

"Aren't there 'cures' that prevent things like this like, oh…I don't know…condoms" Mordecai with a stony stare

"Yes, but there are times when they break and that doesn't help the people that have contracted the disease already" Jeremy stated

"Well if they would simply learn to keep their dicks in their pants or stop spreading their legs out for everyone, then we wouldn't have this problem now would we?" Mordecai told him

"You know, not everyone gets AIDS from carelessness or negligence. What about the ones that get raped or are born with it? They don't ask to be infected but they are forced to live with it" Chad told him

"And you think that's my problem why?" Mordecai simply told them

"Wow, I thought that since, you know, with what happened a few days ago that you would have some sympathy" Chad said as he slowly felt himself getting heated with how Mordecai was acting

"You talking about Eileen?" Mordecai clarified "She didn't die from AIDS. She got hit by a truck"

"But investigators say that her PTB could have had something to do with her death and what do you think caused her to have that disease? [5]" Jeremy said

"So you think that just because some girl I haven't seen in eighteen years dies of AIDS or PTB or whatever, that I'll start orchestrating shit like this. If anything, the world has gotten better with one less diseased person walking around. Besides, I'm not going to waste my time with something that won't profit me or this park. Especially when the money is going in your pockets [6]" Jeremy and Chad were speechless by what they just heard. And even though Chad wanted to say something to him he knew he had to act professional. After all, this was strictly business and they knew when a matter was meaningless to continue discussing so they put their feelings aside and decided to abandon this proposition

"Ok, we see that you don't want to partake in this so we'll take our leave. Nice doing business with you" Jeremy said and they both left the office and once the door was shut, Mordecai went off

"The nerve of those guys, pinning this crap on me; just so they could make a quick buck off of me. And it's people like that and girls like her that piss me off. People who don't know how to mind their own business and people who won't leave me out of shit like that…"

While Mordecai was ranting to Thomas (more like him ranting to himself because he would be reprimanded if he answered), Jeremy and Chad made their way outside

"Well, it looks like we'll have to go to East Pines to-" Jeremy said to Chad as they walked to Jeremy's car but they were stopped by some cloud girl wearing a red tank and jean shorts

"Hey, guys" she called out

"Yes?" They both said in confusion because they didn't know this person

"I just wanted to apologize for Mordecai's behavior"

"You mean Mr. Quintel's" Jeremy asked

"Yes. He's really a nice guy. He has just had a really bad day. Would you consider waiting two days before you call East Pines?" she asked

"We are very busy ma'am and can't wait very long" Chad told her

"So tell you what, if we don't hear anything tomorrow, we're contacting East Pines" Jeremy added

"Fair enough, thank you" CJ said

After saying a brief goodbye, the two men drove off out of the park while CJ walked to a tree near the park house that had huge bushes around it. She kneeled behind them so she could be out of sight of the office window. When perfectly concealed, she said

"Now you see how difficult he is?" When those words were spoken into the air, a figure appeared next to her. She looked irritated with her arms folded, a frown on planted on her face, and her glasses and hair blocking any view of her eyes "And you still want to go through with this?" CJ continued

"Even more so" The figure said with stern voice. After hearing her response, CJ thought of something

"Eileen, can I ask you a question" Eileen nodded "While I was overhearing the conversation up there, it seemed like the possum knew you. May I be as bold to say 'that he knew you very well'?" CJ said bumped her elbow in the ghost's ribs in a joking manner

"I tend to think nothing of him"

"Why?"

"Because when I needed him most, he pushed me away and when he found out I had PTB, it was like he removed me from existence" She said coldly

"Well, he's trying to do this charity run thing. It may be a sign that he feels guilty about casting you aside"

"I guess"

"And at least he showed feelings that he grieves your death. Mordecai practically said that you did the world a favor by dying" CJ put her hand on her forehead in frustration while Eileen sat down unfazed by CJ's cruel reminder "You still think that this Stage Two thing you got planned will work?"

"One shouldn't judge an outcome simply by its beginnings, CJ" the ghost said confidently as she intertwining her fingers slightly and placing them under her nose. At the same time, CJ happened to hear some commotion happening in front of the park house. It was Mordecai yelling from his office window at these two skateboarders for doing tricking on park property [7]. He even threatened to come out with a bat if they didn't stop making noise "After all, who said that this will be easy?" Eileen continued while she also watched Mordecai's unpleasant display

"True" CJ agreed while she reclined on the trunk of the tree behind her

* * *

**A/N: I know that was short but that was only because this chapter was suppose to be linked to the chapter previous but I only split it up because I wanted this chapter to be Mordecai-centered. This story is about him, after all….**

**Blue: Now time to interrupt this scheduled author's note for a special report**

**Scarlet: What?**

**Blue: While reading the last few reviews, there was one written by a guest…**

**Scarlet: Oh you mean from the scientific d-**

**Blue: Scarlet! [Hits Scarlet upside the head] Be nice. I told you, we're going to be professional about this**

**Scarlet: [Grumble]**

**Blue: Alright, even though the review wasn't pleasant, I'm taking the response to heart and I'm working on it as we speak but all I ask (and this goes for everyone else, especially "Guests") is that if you don't like what I'm writing, make a suggestion or something. I don't mind advice or people giving me ideas. But just telling me "you messed up" and leaving me up in the air when I can't respond back to say "Then what do you recommend?" is frustrating**

**[While re-writing first chapter]**

**Scarlet: What plastic is he/she talking about? **

**Blue: I think it was the wire?**

**Scarlet: But aren't they encased in rubber?! UHHH! [She makes a table appear and flips it over]**

**Blue: Looks like this might take a minute. [Sigh] Making cartoons logical is hard**

**…**

**[1] Crystal Freeze=Glacier Freeze, which is a popular flavor of Gatorade**

**[2] Cindy Jane= For those that didn't read my other story, Cindy Jane was the full name I gave CJ. For those that think that 'Cloudy Jay' is her real name, she said and I quote "that it was [her] screen name" She never said it was her real name so Cindy Jane it is because it's girly and it's a name that she would want to hid under initials **

**[3] Ed, Edd n' Eddy reference from that Christmas in July episode…Eddy: It July! **

**[4] Do I really have to say that this is a Tiny Toons reference again? I guess for those that didn't read the corrections for the last story. Had to do it again :3**

**[5] Chad only told Jeremy about Eileen getting AIDS and PTB. Since Eileen never told Chad who it was that raped her (or the fact that Rigby went insane), neither of them feel ill of Rigby. Which explains why he asked about him in the beginning of the conversation**

**[6] Parks, when they hold events, don't get money out of charity runs and things like that. Their profit is getting the park noticed (publicity) **

**[7] Remember those bratty kids in the episode "High Score" (hate them). They are eighteen now and still don't give a crap about people older than them**

**P.S. REVIEWS HELP ME SURVIVE. PLEASE VOICE YOUR OPINIONS**


	6. Ch 5: Act 2-Bondage

**_A/N: SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS WORDS COULD BE VERY POWERFUL TOOL...THEY COULD MAKE YOU LAUGH, THEY COULD MAKE YOU CRY, THEY COULD BUILD YOU UP, THEY COULD TEAR YOU DOWN...BUT THEY AREN'T POWERFUL ENOUGH TO LET ME OWN REGULAR SHOW_**

**_P.S. Good Evening, Darlings. I see that you finally got acquainted with Mordecai last chapter. Nice fellow, isn't he?_**

**_Blue: What are you talking about? He was a complete ass_**

**_Scarlet: What? I thought he was entertaining_**

_**Blue: -_-**_

_**WARNING**__**: MORE GORE IN THIS CHAPTER**_

* * *

**_A Regular Christmas Carol_**

**Chapter 5:**

_Act 2-Bondage_

**July 3****rd**** (Closing Time….Stage Two)**

Outside, the sun begins to set but not fully. All of the park employees start to put tools away and locking up the snack bar. And after a while, everyone had departed to their separate residences…all except for the two people in Park Management

In the park house on the second floor, Mordecai was still at his desk; hard at work while Thomas was shutting down his computer. Thomas then took off his sweater, put on his green cadet style hat (with holes for his horns), grabbed the box he carried his lunch in and pushed in his computer chair

"Alright, it's six o'clock sir, so I'm going to clock out" Thomas told his boss

"You finished all your work?" Mordecai said while not taking his eyes off his work

"Yes, sir" Thomas replied

"Ok, you may leave" Mordecai said like he was shooing him away

"Hm, staying behind for another late night, boss?" Thomas asked when he saw that Mordecai wasn't budging from his desk. Mordecai didn't answer and just kept on writing "Ok then" Thomas walked to the door "Have a good evening" Thomas said and shut the office door behind him

**/||||||||||||||||/**

Mordecai worked tediously for hours until he finished around eight o'clock

"Finally, now tomorrow I could focus solely on the firework display" Mordecai said to himself

He got himself out of his chair and soon felt his legs fall asleep from sitting so long. We walked around the office a bit to get the blood flowing in his legs and decided to go to the bathroom before he would head out [1]

When he opened his office door, the hallway was dark and gloomy and to anyone else this would make them desperately try to find the light switch or run to their destination. Not Mordecai though. Ever since that incident eighteen years ago, nothing fazed him and soon the only emotion he would feel is anger. So since he was relaxed after working so hard, he felt nothing and was able to find his way around in the dark

Once he was the bathroom and 'did his business', he flushed the toilet but for some reason, it made this weird noise. It sounded like a normal flush mixed with a wail or moan of some kind

'Weird' Mordecai thought as he closed the lid. He then stepped over to the sink to wash his hands but was instantly burned from the water pouring out 'Damn it, I forgot it does that when you flush' He retracted his hands and just decided to lather his hands more while he waited for the water to cool down. When it did, he washed the soap off and when he turned the water, he noticed that the medicine cabinet mirror was fogged up 'Odd' He only looked at the mirror for a second when he saw the blurred reflection in the mirror wipe the glass with one swipe of its fist. In the one section of clear glass, he saw part of a dark figure looking back out him

'Mordecai' he heard a voice inside his head say

Mordecai rubbed his eyes with his still wet hands because he didn't believe what he was seeing and when he finished rubbing them... he saw nothing; even the mirror wasn't fogged anymore. So Mordecai just brushed it off, dried his hands, and walked back to his office

Once he got himself ready to leave, he got his keys and was about to lock his office door when he heard banging. It was soft at first but it started to get louder. Listening carefully, Mordecai deduced that it was coming from Pops room so he walked to it but when he put his hand on the knob he heard

'Mordecai…is that you'

It sounded like it was coming from his head again instead of behind the door but it wasn't that that made him perturbed, it was who it sounded like that made his skin crawl. However, despite the circumstances, hearing this didn't get him scared, only angry because it instantly reminded him of that night when he was lacerated to the point of unconsciousness, when he heard Eileen coming in to help him, then having that same sentence being spoken (except it was Eileen and not him he was calling out to). After that there was nothing but the sound of screaming and sex

Mordecai hated it when he would remember that night and desperately tried to repress it but he wasn't able to do it completely. He never could because of the constant reminders. For one, his office was two doors down from the room he got assaulted in. And the other were the injuries he sustained which were the one on his left leg, the scars on his torso and the one he couldn't conceal which was his left eye that had a slit going down it (the knife didn't go too deep so his eyeball didn't get sliced). All of these factors haunted him constantly, but it was in the past, it was beneath him (he would tell himself) and so was Rigby

After he chilled his nerves, he decided that he'd open Pops door because even though he questioned whether the voice he heard was real, that banging definitely was so just to make sure that Pops was ok, he turned the knob

When the door opened, the room looked like it always did. Nothing was in disarray and there was Pops sleeping in his bed…However, despite the common scene displayed in front of him, something didn't seem right

'Pops never slept this early. He would at least be up until nine or nine-thirty' he thought 'I guess planting all of those flowers really tired him out'

With that excuse in mind, he walked to the bed and lightly shook him. After all, Pops gets offended when Mordecai leaves without saying goodbye. If Pops wasn't higher in the ranks, he wouldn't give a shit but since he was…

"Pops?...Pops? I just wanted to tell you that I was leaving" Pops didn't awaken so Mordecai shook him a little harder but he still wouldn't wake up "Pops!" Mordecai soon started to think that this to be troublesome and a waste of his time so he stopped shaking his shoulder and just accepted that he was going to be scolded tomorrow

When Mordecai's hand left Pops shoulder, his shoulder fell so that now he was laying on his back and what Mordecai saw made him want to throw-up his lunch. What he saw was Pops under his sheet in his pinstripe pajamas, gashed. When he pulled the sheet from him, his injuries were even worse. There were so many places he was slashed and stabbed that Mordecai could see the ribs in his chest and the spinal cord in his neck. Seeing this made images of that night flashed in his head of when he was being carried out by the paramedics. While being taken to the ambulance outside, he saw a glimpse of Pops room and saw Eileen laying unconscious...similar to this

As alarmed as he was, he tried to search for a pulse (as useless as that was) but found none whatsoever. Pops was dead...

Mordecai backed away in horror and when he left the room, he started to hear noises coming from downstairs. It was the sound of someone walking; dragging chains across the floor. As the footstep got closer, you could hear a moan echoing from the direction of the stairs. The steps got louder with each and every second that past and soon it sounded like they were coming upstairs. This made Mordecai panic and he ran to the nearest door and shut it. It was until he locked it and turned around when he realized that he was in Rigby's old room

'Fuck, why did I come here?!' Mordecai thought to himself but it was too late now. The footsteps were on the second floor and it was walking down the hallway. That's when he heard a noise accompanying the chains on the ground that frightened him more which was the sound of a blade being dragged across the walls 'Shit, he has a weapon too'

As the footstep got closer and closer, Mordecai's heart raced but he kept his breathing shallow so as to not make a sound. Slow and steady, the footstep proceeded forward; taunting him the longer he waited until...

***Boom...Boom...Boom...Boom***

...the footsteps came to his door and stopped. Mordecai froze as he hoped that he wouldn't attempt to try to open this door

...

...

...

He heard the footsteps again...but they were walking away from the door. When it sounded like they were going down the stairs, Mordecai let the air he was holding through his nose (beak) out and was started to breathe easy

'That was close' he thought

***BAM!***

Mordecai was scared to death when he saw part of a blade penetrating through the door behind him; centimeters from his neck. Despite that he was paralyzed with fear, he forced himself to move and he silently stepped backwards; just in case the knife was jabbed into the door again. And just like he thought, something went through the door but it wasn't a knife, no. It was an arm. At least he thought it was, it was so dark and the arm was black as night

After the arm came through the door, it was followed by its head then its other arm. Once the upper body was through, it pulled the rest of itself through. While this was happening, Mordecai backed himself to the opposite wall and was wondering how he was going to escape but his mind was too scared to think

The shadowy figure, once it was through, just stood there; hunched over a bit with its head down. It looked like it was frozen because for a while, it didn't move. Mordecai thought this would be a good chance to walk to the window and escape that way but when he made one step, he heard in his head

'Going somewhere?' The voice still sounded like he was taunting him and even worse...it definitely sounded like Rigby

'But it can't be him. He has been dead for a week and a half' Mordecai thought

The figure began to move towards him and when he stepped in the stream of moonlight shining through the window, it looked like an exactly silhouette of Rigby. Mordecai backed farther into the wall (if that was possible) and stuttered the words

"W-what do you w-want?"

'Much' he heard in his head

The figure moved out of the light and closer to Mordecai and he felt like he was going to shit his pants. But then his brain had a thought and that thought made Mordecai loosen up a bit

'I could see that you don't believe in me' the voice said to him

"W-why should I?" Mordecai said still stuttering but it stopped afterward "It's probably some crude prank. Probably by those pesky skateboarders, yeah" It sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than to the figure in front of him, but his anxiety slowly subsided when took his back from against the wall and stood in front of the figure. He put his hand through his stomach and said with confidence "Holograms. Just like I thought; a whole bunch of smoke and mirrors"

Mordecai was about to walk past him and make his way to the door when the figure grabbed him by the wing which caught Mordecai off guard

'Smokes and mirrors, huh?' The figure tightened his grip on the blue wing. Mordecai had to admit that it actually hurt 'How's this for smoke and mirrors? Still don't believe in me?' the voice sounded tick off as it's grip stayed tightly on the wing

"Even if this illusion was real, the Rigby I knew had the strength of a marshmallow. As if he could-" Mordecai didn't get a chance to finish his statement when the figure's grip tighten so much that Mordecai thought his wing would snap "You're just a figment of my imagination. I might be asleep or it could have been something I ate, I don't know. But what I'm certain of is that you're not real. You're dead in the ground where you're supposed to be!"

The figure then put all of his strength into his hand and the room was soon filled with sound of the bones in his wing breaking but the figure still didn't let go. Instead, it pulled Mordecai down so he was at its eyelevel. It tilted its head to the side and one red light glowed where its left eye would be

'You talk too much'

As soon as those words echoed in Mordecai's head, chains started to wrap around him and strap him to a chair that suddenly appeared in the room [2]. Mordecai struggled to get free but it was no use

'Wow, doesn't this bring back memories-' the voice said as it traced its blade across the bird's face '-of me carving ever ounce of my anger into you…of you screaming for mercy…it's a shame that I never got the chance to finish' The figure had the knife angled like it was going to slice Mordecai's neck and it held it there and asked 'Still don't believe in me, Mordecai?…or do you want to tempt fate and have my hand continue where we left off the last time?' Mordecai didn't answer at first because he was stricken with fear and was afraid to move 'You better answer soon, Mordo' The knife left his neck and was plunged straight into his left leg which oddly enough was the same spot Rigby stabbed eighteen years ago 'My patience is running thin' Mordecai winced in pain and said in a frustrated tone

"Alright, you're real"

'I don't believe you' The figure said and then dragged its knife across Mordecai's flesh; opening his wound farther

"Ahh! I believe! I said I believe, Rigby!" Rigby yanked his knife out of his leg and swiped it across his stomach

'I never get tired of this. Nothing like reopening old wounds, huh' Rigby said with so much pleasure in his voice

"Ahhh! You sick creature. I said what you wanted. What do you want from me?" Mordecai said

'What do I want? I just want to teach you a lesson. A lesson you won't soon forget' Rigby cut his stomach again 'Like for starters-' his voice started to get deeper and slowly got more demonic '-you should watch what you say because it just may come back to haunt you' he jabbed his knife into Mordecai's left arm and just like before the knife went through to the wood of the chair behind him 'Like what you said in your business meeting earlier...You don't know how much I wanted kill you right then and there…I was so close to cutting out your tongue' Rigby leaned on the knife and it increased Mordecai's pain

'Man, it's amazing how after all these years, he's still a whiney little bitch' Mordecai thought to himself but since Rigby could read minds, Rigby responded by leaning on the knife more

'You think your insults against me offended me? Don't make me laugh. Like I give a damn what you think about me'

"Then what pissed you-" Before Mordecai finish his question, he was shoved backward and hit the floor hard, causing the knife to move too "Damn, I hate you so much" he said in a whisper

'Good' Rigby said while putting his foot on his chest

"Uhh! Why don't you just kill me already if I pissed you off so bad?" Mordecai said just wanting this torture to end

'Because you have so much to learn' Rigby said squatting over him with a red bottle in his hand. He pulled the cork and this red vapor flowed out of it for a brief moment. He then tilted the bottle and its contents spilled on his stomach. It sizzled for a second but to Mordecai's surprise, the pain stopped

"What are you doing?" Mordecai asked perplexed with his actions

'What does it look like?' Rigby said back and repeated the process with his leg and arm (when he decided to take his knife out) and those wounds closed up as well

"I don't understand? Why are you healing me?"

'Like I said, I'm here to teach you a lesson. Can't do that when you're dead, can I?'

Mordecai was still in a state of bewilderment as Rigby put his chair up to an upright position because Rigby's actions were completely contradicting what he would normally do. Even his voice started to heighten until it was the right tone again

'Do you know much about the afterlife?' Rigby asked randomly when he faced Mordecai while sitting in midair

"There is no need because there's no such-" Rigby's hand raised and Mordecai stopped talking for a second when he saw that Rigby's knife was in his hand "Alright, why don't you tell me what lies beyond the grave"

'You become a spirit. Then your soul is transported to another world to rest in peace or...in torment'

"If that's the case, why are you here and not in the other world?" Mordecai said finding a flaw in his statement

'Because I'm not a spirit, I'm a ghost…you see these?' Rigby raised his chains to his eyelevel so Mordecai could see "These show that I'm bound here forever to be punished for eternity. Just like other evil ghost like myself, they're forced to be among the land of the living; where freedom is unobtainable and where we're trapped in chains we've formed in our lifetime…Could you imagine what's going to happen to you?'

"Let me guess, I'm going to be become a ghost and be tortured for the rest of eternity too?" Mordecai said in a mocking tone and for that, Rigby tighten the chains that bound him to the chair

'You wish? Try again'

"What? Then I'm going to become a spirit? If that's the case, what's the sense of torturing me with all of this nonsense if I'm going to rest in peace at the end?"

'Ha, who said that you're going to be upstairs' Rigby said with a few snickers thrown in

"You mean?" Mordecai said a little shaky

Rigby pointed his index finger downwards and gave a small nod afterwards

"No way" Mordecai said in disbelief "Even if that place existed, I haven't done anything to deserve going there"

'Oh, on the contrary, even though actions speaks louder than words, your words did a lot of damage to many ears that heard them. Since your words reflected what's in your soul, your words have spoken your sentence and from where I stand, it doesn't look pretty. You should see how big your chains will be [3]'

That's when Mordecai felt something wrap around his neck; choking him. It was a chain with links that were bigger than two of his fists put together

'And the funny thing is,, it's not even finished yet' Rigby said while laughing maniacally

"No, this can't true" Mordecai said with a strained voice from the chains "You're the evil one, not me. This can't be what lies for me. I won't believe it. This is just a sham, a con, a hoax"

To Mordecai's surprise, the chains that were once around him released him and wrapped around Rigby instead. Mordecai thought that his words and his belief had something to do it so he kept at it

"I'm not going to go down there; I don't believe it. What you say are all lies. I won't believe in your words; they're nothing but poison" The chains got tighter around Rigby and it sounded like he was straining from the pain. This made Mordecai smirk like he was conquering a fear or better yet killing a diseased rat that has burrowed itself into the mind of his subconscious for much too long "What's wrong, Rigby? Don't like it when the shoe is on the other foot, huh? ...I would say to go back to hell where you came from but sadly I can't because I don't believe in it...and I don't believe in you"

With those words said, the chains dragged Rigby through the locked door he came out of and soon the room was silent and empty. Mordecai let out a deep sigh of relief and satisfaction and was about to let himself out of this room he despised so much but when he touched the knob, everything went black

~* { )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( } *~

Mordecai woke up at his desk and was glad that the wounds he thought he had received weren't present. His arm was ok and there wasn't any trace of blood on the white shirt and tie he was wearing. This put him more at ease as he looked up at the clock that was on the wall which read eight-thirty

"Phew, it was just a dream" Mordecai said to himself

..

...

...

'Oh, really?' Mordecai heard in his head again. He looked around hoping that he would see nothing and that it was his mind playing tricks on him again but soon he saw Thomas's computer chair turn around with Rigby's shadowy figure sitting in it 'Missed me?'

Mordecai had terror writing all over his face as he rolled his chair into the wall because he thought he had gotten past this but there Rigby was, in his office, coming closer

'What's the matter, Mordecai? You look like you've seen a ghost or something' Rigby laughed at his pun 'Did you really think you got rid of me?'

"You're not real, you're not real, you're not-" Mordecai said thinking that denouncing him would work again but Rigby came to his desk and slapped him in the face

'Get yourself together, you piece of shit' Rigby said in Mordecai's head 'We are not going to go back to square one again…or do you want me to refresh your belief in me?' Rigby said raise his knife up near his own face

"No, you don't have…I...real, real" Mordecai was spitting out random; he was so afraid right now

'Good' Rigby said retracting his weapon 'Now, I don't have much time to have any more fun with you so I'm going to make this quick…I've come to tell you that you're going to be haunted by three ghosts'

"Why?"

'Because without their visits, you will not be able to escape a fate far worse than mine'

"But I don't get it. Why are you helping me, so to speak? If anything, with all of this hate you have towards me, you would want future torment to happen to me"

'The answer is simple, Mordecai. It's because you're my bro, remember?'

That's when the shadow that covered him melted away and his features could be seen. Now standing in front of him was a raccoon with shredded fur, cuts all over his body [4], one eye missing, and his mouth sewn shut [5] but he was still able to form a smirk on his face

'Consider this to be the last gift from your bestfriend'

Those words echoed in his head as Mordecai remembered the last time Rigby said those words to him. How iconic how those words were used with so much spite the first time but now it actually sound like he was genuine. This made Mordecai wonder if this was the same Rigby that resented him of all of these years but then his confusion faded when Rigby told him with a mocking tone

'Bye Morde-dipstick' and with that he disappeared and no sooner when he left, everything went black again

* * *

**A/N: Writing this chapter was so much fun**

**Blue: I agree. Rigby started acting like a true friend to Mordecai which was great to see their friendship mend a little**

**Scarlet: I just like the torture Rigby put Mordecai through, especially when he cracked his wing with one hand. I was like OOOHHHH!**

**Blue: Okay? Well there is one question I have for you. If Mordecai's comment about Rigby during the meeting didn't upset Rigby, then what did? **

**Scarlet: Um…oh look at the time. It looks like time is up for this chapter's author note-**

**Blue: No it not**

**Scarlet: -Yes it is [Scarlet cuts the line connection]**

**…**

**[1] Just in case you don't remember, Mordecai lives in his own apartment. He moved out after he got his promotion and had his big fight with Rigby**

**[2] After Rigby was convicted of attempted murder and rape, he was sent to the mental hospital. Because of this (and the fact that Mordecai never forgive him), Mordecai took everything Rigby owned out of the park house and put it into storage so he wouldn't have to see anything that reminded him of Rigby. Even if Rigby came back from the mental hospital, he was fired anyway so…**

**[3] Like I said in Chapter Two, chains show bondage to this earth…for ghosts. If a spirit has chains, they're trapped in hell to be tortured (Not to be confused with the Underworld where demons that were never alive in the first place live, like Death). Think of hell like the Alcatraz for the deceased in this story**

**[4] Rigby's cuts from when he died are still there (plus the wounds that he gets in purgatory prison) and ironically, they mirror the ones he gave Mordecai **

**[5] Out of Karma, Rigby's mouth is sewn shut because he never talked to anyone when he was in the mental hospital and how he wanted people to voice their pain so now he can't voice his pain or anything else for that matter. This is why he speaks telepathically **

**P.S. You should try to think who the first ghost is going to be...it's one of the characters I've already mentioned in this story (same goes with the other two)...and don't hesitant to comment/review**


	7. Ch 6: Act 3-Remember?

**_A/N: THE PAST IS A REALM WHICH YOU CAN NOT DWELL IN SO DON'T GET TRAPPED IN THINGS THAT ARE BEHIND YOU. YOU'LL MISS OUT ON WHAT'S COMING AHEAD…LIKE THIS CHAPTER THAT IS BASED OFF OF THE CARTOON 'REGULAR SHOW', WHICH I DO NOT OWN :(_**

**_P.S. Good Evening, Darlings. Wow, Rigby did a number on Mordecai back in the last chapter but it looks like Mordecai trials aren't over yet. Speaking of that, I've gotten some interesting guesses from viewers and outside people. For the first ghost, people have guessed Margaret, Pops, CJ…and a few others. But you have to remember, my clue was that the ghost had to be someone I mentioned in the story and I haven't mentioned Margaret once (not counting the summary) so that's out. And the others…well you'll have to see..._**

_**And to answer Dr. Nemo's question, yes it could be a person that is still alive**_

* * *

**_A Regular Christmas Carol_**

**Chapter 6:**

_Act 3-Remember?_

When Mordecai woke up, he was at his desk. There was even some paperwork stuck to his face when he lifted his head

'Uh, what happened?' Mordecai thought. His first instinct was to look at the clock and he saw that it was midnight

"Damn, I was out for that long?" Mordecai said to himself

"Yes, you were" Mordecai didn't expect someone to answer because he still thought that the past events were just nightmares. As much as he didn't want to look around, he turned and saw a bright ball of light sitting on the windowsill "You had me waiting for an hour while you were knocked out sleep. As a result, we don't have much time to waste"

The ball of light came closer to him and Mordecai immediately put his hands up

"Wait, wait, wait. Hold on a second. Who and what the heck are you?"

"Oh, forgive me. I'm the ghost of long past but specifically your past" The ghost answered

When the ghost was right next to him, it's light grew to be unbearable for Mordecai so he asked "Do you mind turning your light down a bit?"

"What did you say?" The ghost sounded quite angry with him and shined even brighter

"Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"It's bad enough that you fashioned this thimble for me; forcing me to wear it so it could block the light I give. Now you wish to extinguish it with your mortal hands!"

"What the heck are you talking about? Thimble? I don't remember making such an object"

"Sure, you don't" the ghost said a little more composed but still with a bit of sarcasm "After all, it was formed in your subconscious mind. Ever heard of repression?"

Mordecai decided to dismiss the question the ghost asked him and ask a question of his own because throughout this whole conversation so far, he couldn't help but find something familiar about the ghost's voice

"I know I have never met you prior to this encounter…and yet I feel like I've heard your voice before"

"I know it has been years but you still don't know who I am? After all, I've been such a benefit to society by leaving this earth" the ghost said harshly. Mordecai didn't know what the voice meant by this and just looked confused "Need a better hint? Fine"

The ball of light started to dim and little by little he was starting to see the ghost's features. First, he saw a pair of dainty feet that were barefoot. Then he looked up and saw that it was wearing a white gown that was frayed at the ends but still shimmered like it was glowing. When it got to the torso Mordecai now noticed the small thimble the ghost was talking about which was located on top of the ghost's head; sucking the light she emitted into it. When it was finally done, Mordecai was able to see the ghost's face. It had brown hair that stuck out like dancing flames and tiny eyes that glowed a lime green

"Recognize me now?" Said the ghost as it placed the thimble on its left index finger

Mordecai was about to say 'no' until he noticed a scar on the ghost's neck like it was stabbed or something

'No way, it can't be?' He thought to himself

"It is" The ghost answered his thought

"Eileen?" The ghost nodded. Mordecai was flabbergasted when he finally figured out the identity of the ghost. She looked quite different without her glasses and her signature ponytail to the side; you couldn't even see her beaver tail under her gown "What are you doing here?" Mordecai managed to ask

"Rigby told you. I'm here for your future benefit and so that you don't end up with a fate far worse than Rigby's"

"Funny, out of all the people he knows, you're the last person I would expect to be working with a psycho killer like himself"

'She must have liked what he did to her to be associating with him now' Mordecai thought to himself

After hearing that, her eyes glowed brighter then she grabbed his neck in less than a second. She slammed him into the wall and looked at him with piercing eyes

"Ha, big jay has jokes…well you know what, I'm not amused Mordecai. That day was the most painful, heart-wrenching, mind-scarring moment in my life" her voice started to soften but it still held anger in it "He took many things from us that night but in the end, you lost a best-friend and I lost my other half. He trashed our trust and left us with scars" she let go of his throat and he landed on his butt "But despite going through so many trials and tribulations, in the end I managed to do the impossible and put all of that behind me…unlike you. Which is why I'm here to remedy that and other things you tired to suppress in here" She lifted her left hand and pointed to the thimble on her pointer finger "Now with that said" she grabbed his wing and pulled him up from the floor "we have much to do" she continued to drag him but he used his other hand to grab the edge of his desk when he saw that she was leading him to the window

"Hell, no. Are you crazy? Have you forgotten that I can't fly?" Mordecai said frightened a bit

"Have no fear. With the touch of my hand, you'll be freed from the limitations of gravity" When she touched his chest, he started to float

"Holy shit" Mordecai had a hard time controlling where he was floating (and it was comical to say the least) so Eileen guided him and pulled him towards the windowsill. She sat down and patted the space next to her

"Now, do as I do" He was hesitant but he attempted to sit down "Ready?" She asked when he sat down "Good, now when I count to three, close your eyes" She put her arm around his shoulder and started counting "One…Two…"

When she said three Mordecai closed his eyes but immediately opened them again when he felt his center of gravity tilt backwards. He tried to grab the edge of the window but missed in a matter of seconds

As he began to fall, he saw the ground come up pretty fast. He would be lying if he said that he wasn't afraid for his life at this moment in time but his fears were switched off when his attention turned from the ground to Eileen when she took the thimble off from her finger. It then grew to be the size of a waste paper basket and glowed when she reached into it. When she pulled her hand out, it was held a piece of paper. When it fell and came in contact with the ground, it expanded and created a portal that they past through

When they were going through the portal, it looked like they were flying through a tunnel; a tunnel that had walls that consisted of Mordecai's memories. Some were pleasant and actually made him smile while others made him cringe and made him fill with hatred, but all were his to accept which was why Eileen was here to show him that

When they got to the end of the tunnel, it flashed this bright light. Next thing Mordecai knew, he was in front of a small, three-story building. It was layered with red bricks, had pictures and drawing in the windows, a tall flagpole and wooden sign in front of it, and a big playground behind it

"Do you remember this place?" Eileen asked

"This is where I went to elementary school" Mordecai putting his hand on the school sign "Wow, I haven't been here in years"

"Still think you know your way around this place?"

"I've spent six years of my life in this place. I think every nook and cranny should be engraving in my brain by now" Mordecai went to open the door but it wouldn't budge; no matter how much he pulled. While he was struggling, Eileen just watched as he kept at it until she found the humor drifting from this situation so she touched his shoulder and said

"Shame how you don't remember that you always enter through the right door. And even so, you should recall that you have to press the red button first" She pressed the intercom button and it made a buzz sound "After all, it's way past 8:30am and you're very late young man" Mordecai just groaned in annoyance. Seeing this, Eileen grabbed his hand and told him "But to make matters easier, we could just go through the door" She pulled him through the west entranceway and they appeared inside the school building

Once they were in, they walked downstairs to the first floor and memories just flooded Mordecai's brain. On the right was the principal's office which was a place where he was sent to more than he should have. Mordecai couldn't count how many times he was sent in there

Mordecai decided to take a peek in the glass part of the office door, and he could see many copies of his younger self sitting there along with a little friend that always accompanied with him on their pranking crusades

"Wow, even in your youth a certain raccoon was tagging along with you" Eileen said

"I know. His ideas always got us in trouble" Mordecai told her

As they walked down the hallway, they saw the auditorium which doubled up as a lunchroom and walked through the door

"Wow, it's amazing how small the stage looks now. I remember I would have to jump to sit on the edge of it. Now it doesn't even pass my thighs" Mordecai sat down on the stage and watched as memories flashed of him either playing gym in here or shielding himself as he partook in food fights or when he was sitting bored when the school would hire magicians/high school bands/special speakers to entertain the student body

After they were done looking at the memories there, they walked to the second floor where half the classrooms were located

"Oh god, there's Mrs. Brown's, my first grade teacher…man, I hated her" Mordecai said while he looked in the classroom and saw all the pranks he did to her. After laughing at the whoopy cushion gag he pulled, he walked to the next room where Ms. Pluto's second grade class was. The class was in an uproar because the teacher just fell down from her 'rigged' chair "Funny, I was indifferent about this teacher but Rigby simply despised her; especially when she refused to let him go to the bathroom because she thought that it was just another excuse to leave class so he wound up peeing on himself. He got revenge by cutting her chair so she would fall in it" Eileen giggled at the thought of Rigby pissing him "She wound up retiring at the end of the school year because of him"

"Oh" Eileen said while her giggles were ceased

The walked down the hall more and saw a pair of wooden doors that lead to the front entrance, the auditorium downstairs, and the nurse's office upstairs. Mordecai looked through the glass and saw the countless times he carried Rigby to the nurse. Rigby would always get beat up by bullies for taking his pranks too far or for simply mouthing off at them. Even though he would end up looking like road kill, Mordecai always looked after him and even took some of the hits for him

"I could see that you had your share of fights" Eileen said observing as well

"Rigby knew that he couldn't match them physically so he always relied on pranks to get back at people but that always made things worse for the both of us"

Mordecai continued down the hall and looked at the last classroom on the floor. It was Mr. Pooga's third grade class

"Wow, it's Mr. Pooga. His class was so much fun. He used to do all of those cool science experiments and stuff…" Mordecai said as he observed the class watching the teacher make a makeshift battery, then having the class dissect owl pellets, then showing them how to make water disappear "After the water was gone from the cup, Rigby literally thought that the water was hiding and he started looking for it"

"Oh Rigby" Eileen said trying to containing her laughter again

While they were still looking at the many experiments that take place, the bell rang and a swarm of children started running to every stairway to get out of the school. Mordecai ran to get out of the way because he thought that he was going to be trampled but Eileen stopped him and he watched as the children ran right through him

"These are just shadows of your memories, Mordecai. They can't sense our presence because their presence doesn't exist" Eileen informed him

It didn't take long for everyone to desert the school building and soon the school was vacant or so Mordecai thought

"This building isn't truly deserted. There is a child that lingers here still. Come" Eileen brought Mordecai to the top floor where they past the library, the fourth grade classroom and the fifth grade classroom. They didn't stop until they were in front of Mr. Pooga's (the son of the third grade teacher) classroom. Inside was a lone blue jay writing something on the chalkboard

Eileen fazed them through the door and they watched as the twelve year old version of himself filled the board with 'I will not rig the teachers science experiments'

"Do you remember what happened here?" Eileen asked Mordecai

"How could I forget? This was the time when I got detention for rigging Mr. Pooga's rocket and making it crash into his nuts" Mordecai didn't sound too cheery about it when he told her that "Even though it was Rigby's idea, the teacher caught me with the controls and I was the only one that got in trouble for it. Rigby and his stupid pranks"

As Mordecai was ranting, Eileen saw something tap the glass of the of the door

"What do you want Rigby" Mordecai's younger self said while not turning his attention from his tedious, bothersome task

"Wow, what has your boxers in a knot?" Rigby said as he let himself into the locked door by picking the lock (it was one-way lock so Mordecai could leave but no-one could get in without a key)

"Do I really have to response with the answer so obvious" Younger Mordecai said

"Chill man, I just thought that you would need some help in getting back at Mr. Pooga-pants"

"Are you serious right now? I'm stuck here taking the rap for you while writing on the board a hundred times. The last thing I want to hear is another idea for another stupid prank that is probably going to get me in deeper trouble than I already am"

"Oh, it's this stupid writing assignment that's got you mad, huh? Well don't worry, I'll fix that" Rigby started to pull out a whole bunch of wooden pegs with holes drilled along the length of it. He attached the pegs until they formed on long stick with holes going straight down the middle. He then filled the holes with pieces of chalk and gave it to Younger Mordecai "Here, this should do"

"What the heck am I suppose to do with this?"

"Easy, look" he took the long stick and started writing on the board with it. Every time he wrote the sentence once, the stick wrote it eleven more time [1] "See, now you could get done with this in no time at all. No thank yous are necessary" That's when Younger Mordecai punched him in the arm; causing Rigby to fall and squirm on the floor

"Thanks Rigby"

"Wow, even back then, it seemed that you guys were great friends" Eileen said while digging into her thimble

"Yeah, a friend that always got me into trouble" Mordecai told her

"True, but did he always try to fix the messes he made?"

"By messing things up even more"

"Yeah, Rigby could be a little problematic, can he? At least there was one thing he was good at?"

"Ha, like what?"

"Staying by your side" Eileen found the page she was looking for and made another portal appear on the chalkboard. While they walked through the tunnel of memories, Eileen started to point out some stuff "Even though he was there, getting you in trouble-" She pointed to memories of them in middle school when they would get detention or get stuffed into lockers. Then she moved to high school memories of them getting chased and beat up by bullies "-he was always there trying to get you out of trouble. Even when his efforts were futile, he never thought of leaving you alone to wallow by yourself. And in return, you were the same for him…well there was one time…when she came into the picture"

At the end of the tunnel, they transported inside Mordecai's old high school. The halls were filled with teenagers talking about their summer and sporting off their new clothes or new pieces of technology

'Must be the first day of school' Mordecai thought

"Correct. Specifically the first day of your junior year"

Eileen and Mordecai walked down the crowded hallway until they came upon a blue jay and a raccoon chatting by an open locker. When Eileen saw them she elbowed Mordecai on the shoulder and said

"Hmm, I didn't know you guys dyed your hair before"

"Yeah, after the bad reputation we set in middle school, I thought that we could change our image by wearing clothes and dying our hair" Mordecai tried to explain

"Did it work?" Eileen said crossing her arms. Then as if on cue, they saw this guy dressed in a varsity jacket push the open locker door; causing it to hit Younger Mordecai on the head

"Losers" the guy said then walked off with his posse

"Not really, but my father thought that brown suited me and somehow convinced me to keep the color until I graduated" Mordecai said. Eileen accepted the explanation and leaned on the wall of lockers. Before long, they began to hear whispering echoing in the halls, talking about some new girl that had moved to Twin Peaks

"I wonder what everyone is talking about" Younger Mordecai asked

"[Groan] It's just over some new girl, no big deal" Rigby said

"It must be a big deal if the whole school is talking about her"

"I bet it isn't all that" Just when Rigby said that, a crowd of girls turned the corner and walked by them. In the middle of the group was what Mordecai would call the most beautiful creature he had even seen. Younger Mordecai instantly was in a trance as he watched the robin walk by with her new crowd of friends. From her long black legs, to her slim torso topped with a nice set of breasts, then her face…oh her face, Mordecai felt like he could stare into her beautiful black eyes for hours. To him, this girl was more than perfect. She was gorgeous "Mordecai? Mordecai!" Rigby desperately tried to get his best friend's attention but this love struck blue jay had lost his consciousness to a beautiful young robin named…

'What is this beautiful goddess's name?' the Younger Mordecai thought. His question was soon answered when he overheard the girls talking, saying her name in the process

"Margaret" the Younger Mordecai whispered while still entranced with his mouth agape

"And this is where the complex love story began" Eileen says while looking in her thimble again. She then pulled out another page and placed it on one of the lockers. They both walked through the portal and Eileen continued to converse with him "Ever since you sprouted hearts in your eyes, it's been an endless game of trying to get Margaret's attention. You even tried to join the football team while convincing Rigby to join along with you when you heard that she became a cheerleader" She said pointing to a memory while they were still in the tunnel "You wound up getting rejected so you joined the marching band so you could at least see her when you performed at the football games" She pointed to a moment when he was walking to the school football field with his saxophone; heading to band practice "I have to say, you were pretty persistent and I could see why. Who wouldn't fall for an attractive girl like her…" That's when she showed a few boyfriends she dated just in high school alone "Nevertheless, when she would break up with those boys, you were always there to pick up the pieces. You were such a good friend to her"

They have come to the end of the tunnel and they popped up in the same main hallway but you could tell that it was a different moment in time because there were many banners showing off the current year of the graduating class (and it just so happen to be the same year that Mordecai, Rigby, and Margaret were graduating in)

"[Sigh] Spring Time, when people start getting that fuzzy feeling inside causing hormones to raise" Eileen said "And in this case, it could be for good or bad" Mordecai was confused at first at what she mention until she saw Rigby turning the corner; running right past them. Right behind them were three dudes that looked ready to pummel him. After the three guys past them, Eileen pulled Mordecai's wing motioning him to follow them

After watching them go all over the school, Rigby was soon trapped in a dead end hallway

"Looks like there is no where left to run" the leader of the group said to him "Now we'll teach you what happens to losers that think they could step up to me"

As Mordecai watched the raccoon helplessly get beat up, Eileen stared emotionless

"Hm, I wonder where his best friend is?" No sooner when those words uttered her mouth, the floor moved under the two and they were moved to the other side of the building where Younger Mordecai was hiding behind a corridor trying to mutter up the courage to talk to the girl of his dreams. Even though, you could safely say that they were 'friends', he still felt nervous around her; especially since she still was dating someone else. Despite that, he took every chance he got to even be near her. This being one of those times, he quickly put his game face on and thought of a conversation starter. However, when he was about to walk up to her, he saw Margaret slam her locker in frustration. This worried the young blue jay so he rushed to her side to make sure she was ok

"Woah Margaret, is everything alright? What's wrong?" Younger Mordecai said. This caught Margaret off guard and she quickly tried to compose herself as if nothing was wrong

"Oh...Mordecai, hi. I'm fine. Just mad at my stupid locker. You know how hard it is to open it" Younger Mordecai noticed that the lock was already open so he asked her

"You sure?" as he opened the locker wide open. Margaret saw that she was caught in a lie and turn her head so she wouldn't have to make eye contact with him "Come on, Margaret. What's wrong? You could tell me" Margaret let out a sigh and said in a whisper

"Do you ever feel like your trapped sometimes?"

"What do you mean exactly?"

"Roy"

"What about him?"

"I just heard from one of my friends that he's cheating on me"

"And are you certain that it's true and it's not your friend being jealous?"

"I don't know. But even if it wasn't true, Roy has been driving me crazy for the past three weeks we have been dating. Between these rumors and the fights we would have over random crap, I'm on my wits end here"

"If that's the case, why do you feel trapped? Why don't you just break up with him if he's making you this frustrated?"

"It's not as easy as it sounds, Mordecai. I really like Roy and when he's not paranoid and thinking that I'm cheating on him, he's the sweetest thing" Younger Mordecai face-palmed himself after hearing her say that but luckily she wasn't facing him so she didn't see him do that

"Margaret, ask yourself this. Is this split second of happiness worth the distress that follows it?"

"I don't know. I just- I'm just tired. It feels like I'm playing Russian roulette and I'm shooting myself every time I decide to give a guy a chance" Margaret covered her eyed as she tired not to tear up "I really thought that Roy was the one. He's handsome, plays the bass, has a good sense of humor and could always make me laugh...maybe it's it not him; it's me"

"Don't blame yourself, Margaret. It's definitely not you. After all, you got the looks, you got a good head on your shoulders, you're compassionate, talented…You're pretty much an amazing girl. So amazing that any guy would be a fool if he messed things up with you" Younger Mordecai heard her sniffle then pull her hand away after she wiped her eyes

"I guess I've been dating a lot of fools. Guess that makes me foolish for believe in them" Margaret said while grabbing her shoulder like she was insecure

"Margaret, nobody's perfect. Everyone makes mistakes. That doesn't make us foolish. That just proves that we're living beings. You're only foolish when you don't learn from your mistakes. Now tell me, did you learn from your mistake?" She gave a small nod "Then let fix that mistake, ok?" That's when Younger Mordecai walked in front of her so he could see her face. Her eyes looked sadden and stained with make-up but she put on a smile. He was about to ask if she was ok now but she suddenly gave him a hug which caught him by surprise

"Thanks Mordecai. You always know what to say. I'm lucky to have you as a friend" Even though Margaret said that with gratitude, it cut Younger Mordecai because he didn't want to be just her 'friend' but he pushed his sadness aside and decided to enjoy the hug he was receiving instead

"Aw, how precious. Your first hug by her" Eileen said but Mordecai felt his heart constrict as he turned his gaze from the two birds. Eileen wanted to say something to him but there was something happening on the other side of the school and she didn't want Mordecai to miss it so she grabbed Mordecai's wing and had him follow the two birds as they walked down the hall. When they were about to exit through the south exit, they happened to hear some commotion coming from around the corner. The birds got curious and went towards the noise. That's when they saw three guys ganging up on someone. It didn't take long for the birds to realize who it was and when they did, Margaret was in shock

"Roy?" Margaret said "What are you doing?" One of the guys turned around and looked at the upset robin

"Oh...babe, it's just…" but before he could finish, he felt a sharp pain hit his left calf. Roy turned and saw Rigby grinning while he held a switchblade in his hand. One of Roy's posse was about to punch Rigby for that but Younger Mordecai grabbed his fist before it could make contact with the raccoon's face "Oh, you want to interfere Morde-dork?" Roy said before punching him in the gut. While Roy was distracted with beating up Younger Mordecai, Rigby jumped onto Roy's head and started clawing his eyes. He then jumped onto other guy and stabbed him in the back while clawing his head. As the three guys were struggling trying to catch this little rodent, Margaret went to Younger Mordecai's side

"Mordecai, are you ok?"

"[Cough], I'm fine" Younger Mordecai said as his attention turned from the robin to the fight which was now turning into a bloodbath. However, before things could get any more serious, Rigby's ears went up like he heard something. He then jumped off his attackers and ran out of the corridor. Younger Mordecai's first reaction was to follow him so he got up and ran after his friend. Meanwhile Margaret walked up to her boyfriend who was on the floor and said with venom in her voice

"Roy"

"Babe, make use of yourself and-" before he could say anything else, she stepped on his hand "Ah!"

"I don't answer to that name anymore Roy because we're done"

"Margaret-" Roy was cut off by Margaret kicking him in the junk

"I don't date jerks like you" After she was done talking to him, she ran after Younger Mordecai

So they wouldn't miss the action, Eileen teleported Mordecai where Younger Mordecai caught up with Rigby which was at a tree by the football field

"Rigby" Younger Mordecai yelled but Rigby kept running. However, Rigby was growing tired because of the punches he received so he involuntary started to slow down. So when Younger Mordecai thought he was close enough, he tackled Rigby to the ground and pinned him. While he was taking this chance to take in a few breaths, Mordecai was trying to formulate what he was going to ask him because everything was going so fast. First he was talking with Margaret and next he was watching his best friend stab three guys

"You love her a lot, do you?" Rigby said breaking the silence

"What?"

"That red-head" Rigby clarified

"Rigby, where are you getting at?"

"It just explains a lot of things, that's all. Why I don't see you anymore, why you've forgotten about me, why you forgot that we meet at each other's lockers at the end of school so we could do stuff together…I understand that you have other things on your plate but today you promised. You promised that we were going to hang out. You were going to meet me at my locker…Where were you?" Rigby said in an exhausted, raspy voice

"Rigby, I just got…held up. There is no need to get-"

"What happened to bros being there for each other?" Rigby said sounding more angry now "Because you weren't there, I got my ass kicked and you're pushing it off like it's no big deal?" That's when Rigby saw that red-head from a distance coming to their locations o he calmed his demeanor again and said "Mordecai, just go. You're best friend is looking for you"

"What? I'm not going to-"

"Mordecai, can't you see that I'm done. I'm done being pushed aside by you. I'm done trying to fight for your attention. And I'm done trying to be your bro. After all, you don't need me. You need her so go to her"

"There you guys are. Rigby, are you ok?" Margaret said when she finally came to their location. Rigby tried his hardest to not take the sarcastic route and say 'You saw me get roughed up by those guys and you're asking if I'm ok?' and wound up saying

"Why don't you go get the nurse. These bruises feel pretty bad" Rigby told her

"Sure, I'll be back in flash" With that, she left back to the school building to get help

"Wow, Mordo. You sure know how to pick them. Now go after her, because now I'm not going to burden you by being a third wheel"

Eileen stopped the scene right there and pulled out another paper from her thimble and placed it on the ground. She walked through it and Mordecai walked behind her feeling an unwanted sense of guilt

"So this was the first time that he used that switchblade" Eileen said not looking at Mordecai "Just to think, after all these years, he still kept it by his side" She said trailing a finger on her neck. She whispered something else but Mordecai wasn't able to catch it but when she spoke again, she changed the subject "After Rigby convinced you to leave, he was found by the school staff when those three ruffians played the victim and snitched on him. He wind up being put in jail despite it being all out of 'self-defense'. As a result, he never graduated and never pursued in getting his diploma after he was released. You on the other hand, graduated and even went to art school. However, you never finished or got your degree. Why is that, you had the skill?"

"It still wasn't what they were looking for" Mordecai answered in a matter-of–factly voice "They always say that you have to go by the book before you could 'go rogue' and going by the book was a pain agonizing...It wasn't my calling anyway"

"Sad to hear that because you weren't that bad"

"Well, sorry to disappoint you because I'm not going back to pursuing art again" he said sternly

"Okay~" she said in a sing-song voice. She then turned a corner and showed another image; it was of the park. It was a bright sunny summer afternoon and it just so happened that a certain greyhound bus pulled up right in front of it "Remember this next step in our life?" Mordecai didn't say anything until he saw his younger self come out of the bus; followed by Rigby

"This was the first day that we worked at the park" Mordecai answered

"Yep, and I'm surprised that you sought Rigby out after all of those years of being apart"

"It wasn't really me as it was more of Aunt Regina's doing [2]"

"Who?"

"Rigby's mom. Once she heard that I was getting a job that provided room and board, she couldn't wait to get Rigby out of the house. She talked about this teaching him responsibility and this giving him a confidence boost because she said that he hasn't been himself after he was released from jail"

"And you helped him?"

"Well, he was my friend…at the time" Mordecai said catching himself. Eileen noticed the pause be decided against commenting on it so she didn't say anymore on the subject and they watched as his younger self and Rigby talked to Pops

'Hn, Pops. He was always such a peculiar character' Mordecai thought. However, his pleasant thoughts about him were bum-rushed by the haunting memory of Pops being slaughtered in his own bedroom 'Poor old man. He never deserved that' Eileen smiled when she heard him think that because she could see a small work in progress so she continue their journey to the end of the tunnel and said

"Let's talk about Benson, shall we?" She then ushered Mordecai to the exit "In your opinion, how was he as a boss?"

"Benson? Well, at first, I'm not going to lie, he was a real pain in the ass"

"Almost every boss is" Eileen agreed when they appeared at the park. It was night time and the lights were still on in the park house; showing that there was still commotion going on inside "If I recall, he would nag you when you didn't do your work, criticize you about cutting the grass at the right height, and scold you for being absolute slackers" Eileen said as her voice slowly started to sound like Benson "And you wouldn't be able to go through one day without him giving you a job to do and threatening you to do it or 'you're fired!'" She toned her voice lowered and she adjusted it back to her original voice and said "How was that? Pretty accurate?" Mordecai looked weirded-out but still gave a small nod "I don't think so" Eileen said answering her own question "There was one part that I left out"

Just then, the door opened and some of the park employees came out of the park house in matching red t-shirts while carrying round bags

"Ready for another practice game, fellas" Skips said

"Yeah we are" Younger Mordecai said

"I still don't get why we have to practice though. We're already set to win that tournament in two weeks" Rigby said pretty confident in their skills

"Because practice gives us a chance to polish things up. You could never be too prepared" Benson said to Rigby "Besides, I've heard that there's this grade-A group called the Magical Elements that participates in the tournaments every year. Rumor has it that they're unbeatable at Stardust Lanes so-"

"Aw, I bet we could take them" Rigby said to him "Especially with our star player over here-" Rigby patted Skips in the back "-and kick-ass bowlers like us. I bet that those Magical Losers won't stand a chance"

"Yeah, yeah, true. We're still practicing though" Benson said laughing a bit

With that said, everyone got into Skips's van and they drove off to the bowling alley. Eileen didn't bother to follow them. Instead she sat down on the park house steps and watch as the bowlers left the park

"Funny, Benson had the power to make your lives a living hell and yet he still found it not robbery to bond with his employees. Not that many bosses do that"

"I know. To some, he was a good friend but to all of us he was our cranky boss" Mordecai said chuckling a bit as he sat down on the steps too "However, despite all of that, I respected him because no matter how bossy he could get, he knew when to drop the manager title and be by us when we were in deep shit. There was that time when Muscle Man had to fix his trailer for that crazy health inspector, when Skips had to battle his stress, when he helped get Pops those fuzzy dice, and when he helped me win Rigby that trucker hat…he really was a really good boss. It's just that back then, Rigby and I saw it as him being anal and being a complete ass but deep down he was pushing us…" Mordecai paused and let his thoughts run through his mind

"Is there something the matter?" Eileen asked

"Huh?" Mordecai said when he was brought out of his thoughts "It's nothing"

"I could hear your thoughts in a cluster, Mordecai. I think there is something the matter"

"It's nothing big. I'm just thinking of something to say to my assistant, is all"

"Well as curious as I am, we still have much to do" She said while making another portal at the bottom of the steps. The two then walk down the stairs, went through the portal and saw more images on the walls on the tunnel "It seemed that this point of your life was a good one, despite the occasional bizarre stuff that would occur in the park. You're friendship with Rigby was tight, you had a steady job, you even saw Margaret again and soon retained a bond with her too. Things seemed perfect…until that fateful day"

They got to the end of the tunnel and appear in a fancy restaurant with polished white floors, tall marble columns, leather burgundy chairs accompanied by round tables in white tablecloths; it was really classy establishment to say the least. But even though this was a really nice place; only bad memories laid here because this was the place where Mordecai's heart died; otherwise known as Steak Me Amadeus

At this point, The Capicola Gang and the FBI (along with the park staff) are indulged in a shot out while Younger Mordecai and Margaret were taking cover behind a table

"Margaret, I want to tell you something. For the years that I've known you, no one makes me happier than you do"

'No' Mordecai thought to himself because he dreaded what would happen in the end

"Just in the last few weeks I've spent with you; they have been the best few weeks in my whole life"

'No'

"Every minute that we spend together, I felt like we were growing closer every day" Mordecai watched as his younger self took both of her hands into his own and said "What I'm trying to say is Margaret, will you be my girlfriend?" Both Mordecais held their breath as they waited for Margaret to answer

"[Sigh] Mordecai, there is something that I need to tell you. In the past few weeks I've spent with you, I feel for the first time ever that I'm in a relationship that could actually work. But then…there's this" She shows him the acceptance letter she got from Milten University "I got accepted into my dream school" She looked down as tears started to fill her eyes "I really like you Mordecai, and what we have is special, but…at the same time I may not get this chance again…I'm sorry but-" she let go of his hands, covered her eyes, and said with a heavy heart "-I can't be your girlfriend"

With that, both Mordecais watched as the bird of his dream ran out of his life forever. Watching this made Mordecai's heart break like it did twenty years ago. Not able to watch another second of this, he turned his head from the heartache he tried so hard to forget

"Eileen, take me back to the park house" Mordecai managed to say without choking up in sorrow

"But we're not finished yet. We still have much to see"

"I don't care, I don't want to see anymore" But his words were heard on deaf ears as Eileen conjured up another portal and forced Mordecai to go through it

"Love could either make or crush you and in your case, you were crushed hard" Eileen said as she showed him an image of himself in the mist of his depression "Even the comfort of your friends couldn't revive your dead spirit...but eventually you came out of your room however you weren't the same. Sure you took a shower and started working again but still to this day, it's like a part of you died in that room…but you called it 'you being reborn'. Let's see the 'rebirth you' in action, shall we" She turned another corner in the tunnel and on the walls they saw how his work progressed "In the months that followed, you started to care more about your work ethics. You pushed yourself to finish your work properly and timely; even when Rigby wanted to slack off and be lazy. Sometimes you ended up doing his share of the work too but this didn't go unnoticed. Benson watched you improve dramatically and soon you were seen as an ideal employee in his eyes. However, as a price, your social life plummeted. You didn't talk to the park staff, you didn't hang out during outings, you didn't even leave the park grounds unless it was to cash your check"

"It's pointless to bother myself with trivial pursuits like that. Bowling, karaoke, dodge ball…stuff like that is useless; a waste of my time and nothing was going to detour me from the new goal I set for myself"

"Not even Rigby?" Eileen asked

"Not even Rigby" Mordecai repeated

They made it to the end of the tunnel and they appeared in Mordecai and Rigby's old bedroom. Younger Mordecai was getting ready for bed until Rigby came into the room

"Hey Mordecai, guess who just got us tickets to see Trapped in Negative Space?"

"Not interested" Younger Mordecai said while crawling into his bed

"Oh come on, Mordecai. This is said to be the best thriller of the year" Mordecai didn't response and just pulled the covers over himself "Stop being a wet blanket" Rigby started poking at him through the covers "It's only-" Rigby looked at the clock and it said "-eight o'clock"

"I said I'm not interested" Younger Mordecai said 'almost' raising his voice but still sounding irritated

"But, Mordecai-"

"But nothing. I said no. Now let me get some sleep. We have work tomorrow"

Lately, Rigby would just give up at this point and have fun without him but recently, he missed spending time with his best friend. He hated that he couldn't talk to him anymore or simply hang out. It was like the last two years of high school all over again. Except now, Mordecai wasn't himself anymore. If Mordecai was acting like his old self, he would know some triggers that would spark his interest but now, it was like he was rooming with a stranger and frankly Rigby was getting tired of it. So he went into the drawer and got the airhorn that Mordecai would use to get him up in the morning sometimes. He held it close to where the bird's head would be and he pressed the button; making the blue jay jump out from his sheets. Younger Mordecai instantly grabbed the blow horn from Rigby and then threw it at his head

"That's it! That's fucking it!" Younger Mordecai shouted and walked out of the room. Rigby followed him eagerly and said

"So does that mean that you're going to the movies with-"

"Are you that dense in the head?! How many times do I have to tell you that I don't want to hang out or slack off with you?"

"But Mordecai, you're my bro. We-"

"You're not my bro. You're a disease; an annoying little pest that's stuck in the past. When are you going to grow up and stop acting like a child? Can't you see that you're not going to get anywhere in life the way you are now? Always dependent and never taking the initiative. If it wasn't for me bailing you out and helping you half the time, you wouldn't even be here"

"Last time I checked, I was talking to Mordecai, not my mom or even worse, Benson. And what do you mean 'Stuck in the past'? At least I'm not the one still hung up over a breakup" Rigby said under his breath

"I'm not hung up. I've just simply learned from my mistakes. I'm taking life's hard lessons and moving forward with them. I'm adapted to rougher terrain. In other words, I've changed; unlike you"

"For the worse"

"What did you say?"

"You heard me. Ever since Margaret stood you up, you have done nothing but walk around with a chip on your shoulder. Walking around like a selfish shit-head...And you want me to change? Why would I do a stupid thing like that and become an unfeeling stick in the mud like you?"

"Life is going to crush you in the future, Rigby" Younger Mordecai said with a deadpan tone in his voice "The past few months, I hoped that if you saw how I've changed that you would follow suit; seeing that you're a tag-along at heart. But now I see that you'll never change. You'll always be stuck in your old ways. Well I guess it benefits me regardless because the last thing I need is dead weight holding me back from success" Younger Mordecai then walked back to the their bedroom while Rigby still stood in the hallway looking at the tickets in his hand

After looking at them for a while, he walked back into his room and began trying to put Younger Mordecai through a guilt trip

"Well, I'm sorry for stopping you from 'succeeding'. I didn't know that movies and video games could do that to you" Rigby said sarcastically "Well, I hope that what you're aiming for is worth it; worth losing your best friend"

"It is" Younger Mordecai said under the covers "because you're not my bro. You're just a bothersome co-worker; a roommate. But after tomorrow, you won't even be that to me anymore"

"And you were true to your word too" Eileen said "The next day, Benson announced that you were going to be his new assistant because Benson got wind that Mr. Maellard wasn't doing so well in his late years and was said to only have a few months left to live. So Benson wanted to train someone up (that being you) to do his job because Mr. Maellard was going to give his job of managing other more important things to Benson (since he didn't think that Pops could do it by himself). So when you got that promotion, you took the money you saved up and moved out of the park house and into a condo across town. After that, you permanently broke the bond you had with Rigby…and everyone else"

Eileen then showed snippets of the night both of them tried to forget. Even though she tried to explain the purpose of this, she averted her eyes and Mordecai noticed

"It's amazing how long someone can carry resentment" She said "While he was putting on a front by actually doing his work; in his room, he had plots and schemes on how to kill you for hurting him. He really treasured the friendship he had with you more than anything else and when it was severed; he's whole world crashed down…sound familiar?"

"Where are you getting? That Rigby going insane was my fault?"

"No, I asked you if what you're doing sounds familiar. If not, here's another hint" She brought back a memory of him having an argument with CJ

_"__I'm so tired of you coming in my office. I've told you a dozen times that I don't want to hang out, I don't want to be friends, I don't even want to see you anymore! Can't you tell when you're not wanted!…I SAID GET OUT, YOU WASTE OF SPACE!"_

"I treat her like Rigby" Mordecai said to her "Is that what it is? If so, so what? I've-"

"No, that's not it" Eileen said cutting him off "One last hint"

She showed a past newscast of channel five news where Margaret was currently the co-anchor of. She was talking about another wildfire that spread across a forest when she was interrupted by a man coming onto the set. At first glance, you could tell that she knew him because of the blush of embarrassment she had, but the blush on her face only grew a darker shade of red when he popped the question on live television. Mordecai remembered scrolling through the channels one night and switching onto that channel by accident; just to see her say yes to becoming someone else's fiancé

Just then Mordecai heard a voice sounding like Margaret's saying "I'm sorry Mordecai, but I can't be your boyfriend"

"Just like your world went crashing down when Margaret said those words to you, you've done the same to everyone else. I guess Rigby wasn't the only one stuck in the past, huh"

"That's it. I've had enough of you Eileen. Take me back home"

"What are you getting so mad about? These are your memories that you decided to replicate into the present. Don't blame me"

"I said shut up! Take me back!"

That's when he saw an image of Margaret appear in front of him; then other and other; all of them dressed differently and calling for his attention

"What's wrong diaper boy, is something the matter?" A Margaret dressing in a egg-shell colored V-neck dress said

"I know what will make you feel better. Let's go camping? I heard it's lots of fun" said another Margaret in the same camping outfit she was in the last time they went camping

"No let's go clubbing. I heard you were a good dancer" said another Margaret in a strapless yellow dress

"How about the movies? I hear that Lovebot Two is playing" another Margaret said in a plain yellow shirt and jeans

"What's wrong Mordecool, you know I don't like to see you sad. After all, you were always there for me" said a younger version of her in a cheerleading outfit

"Mordecai, you were the best friend I ever had" said a Margaret dressed in a strapless purple dress

Seeing Margaret in the same outfit that she wore when she broke things off with him was the last straw. Mordecai was tired of Eileen playing with his feelings so he walked past the Margarets and grabbed the thimble from her hands. He then slammed it on her head and screamed

"If you're not going bring me back, leave me the fuck alone! Haunt me no longer!"

Eileen did everything she could to push the thimble off but it kept trying to suck her in and soon she was completely inside it. As a result, all of the Margarets disappeared and the tunnel of memories turned black. Mordecai started to breathe again knowing that she was gone but without warning, every page that was in the thimble started to erupt out of it. Soon the pages started to form a mountain that grew from under him. In no time at all, he was high on the summit

Mordecai wasn't afraid of height but being on top of that summit, just hang made him uneasy; especially when some of the memories on the mountain were playing silently for him to see

"Eileen!" Mordecai yelled but he didn't get an answer "Where are you! Get me down from here!" Only the wind responded by slapping him in the face with cold air. Thinking that he was left alone, he decided that he would simply climb down the mountain by himself but it was too slippery that he couldn't get the proper footing "Damn it, what am I going to do?" He tried to think of another way down but nothing came to mind and he was stuck for what seemed to be hours until he heard someone say

"It's lonely at the top, isn't it?"

"Eileen?" She didn't answer for a minute but she appeared as a ball of light again and told him

"Hurts, doesn't it? You're arms I mean. They must be straining"

"If you could see that, help me"

"I would but you're preventing from doing so" That's when he felt his hands starting to loss its grip

"Eileen, stop with your foolishness and help me, I'm slipping"

"I told you, I can't. You severed our bond and everyone else's so every form of support is out of your reach. And soon the only bonds you'll have are these" Mordecai could hear the sound of rattling chains and this made him lose his concentration and his grip

He then started to fall at a rapid rate; watching as his memories on the mountain started to cause an avalanche. His brain felt like it was going to explode with every single thought that haunted him clouding his mind until he was knocked out by coming in contact with a wooden floor

* * *

**A/N: Phew, that was killer try to fit forty-three years of memory into one chapter. Hopefully the next chapter will be shorter and quicker to update (sorry for the delay)**

**Blue: Hey, did anyone guess right with the first ghost? If you did, congratulations. If not, better luck with the next ghost which will be the ghost of Mordecai's present life...Speaking of that, why did you pick Eileen as the first ghost? After all, she is directing the whole thing**

**Scarlet: Well, at first I looked at other versions of the past ghost and most of them were infants and dainty. With that in mind, the first person I thought of that could fill his shoes was Eileen; her being small and adorable. But as I got to writing this story, I started to think of how Scrooge is in the book and how he treats the ghosts. Out of all the ghost, he treats the first one the worst. Especially when he slams that cone on his head. So I thought, who would be great to take the brunt of picking Mordecai's hard shell? It had to be someone that knew him somewhat well. With those factors in mind, this only solidified my choice for Eileen being my final decision. There, does that answer your question?**

**Blue: [Snores]**

**Scarlet: You little- [she takes out her katana and almost slices her head off]**

**Blue: Woah, it was just a joke. It was just a joke**

**Scarlet: Just a joke huh? How's this for laughs [She continues to chase her around with her sword]**

**...**

**[1] This contraption was used in the second book (I think) of Captain Underpants which is the one with the talking toilets. George and Harold, who are also pranksters, are sent to detention and use this device to write sentences on the board in less than three and a half minutes (they say). Thought it would be cool to bring that back**

**[2] Now I don't want you thinking that I made Mordecai and Rigby be related to each other. The reason why I said 'Aunt Regina' was when I was younger, my best friends were like family so their family was like my family. So basically Mordecai is saying that Rigby's mom was like an aunt to him; despite the fact that they're not related**

**P.S. School is coming up soon (BOOOO!). So updates may not be as quick as I want them to be. I'll try my best to dish them out as quickly as my brain can think of them**

**P.S.S. Hey Player2PressStart, long time no see. Welcome to the party. Thanks for the reviews (same goes to you other lovely people). Scarlet goes crazy without them **


	8. Ch 7: Act 4-Removing The Blinders

**_A/N: EVEN THOUGH IT LASTS ONLY AN INSTANT, THE PRESENT WILL STICK BY YOUR SIDE FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE. SO TREASURE IT…LIKE YOU WOULD THE OWNERSHIP OF REGULAR SHOW IF YOU HAD IT WHICH I DON'T_**

_**P.S. Good Evening, Darlings. Last time we met, you have seen the first ghost who has revealed herself as being Eileen. In the short time they had, Eileen took Mordecai to a journey back in time through his memories; some roads being smooth, others bumpy and rough. Now Mordecai will await his next ghostly encounter who will be…Thomas, CJ, Pops? Well, you'll have to read on to find out**_

_**NOTE: I've change one small thing in the story. I made it twenty years since Margaret left instead of ten. When you read on, you'll see why…so now Mordecai's age has changed to forty-three. Plus Martha's name is now Thelma (if you don't remember her, she was mentioned briefly in Chapter Four)**_

* * *

**_A Regular Christmas Carol_**

**Chapter 7:**

_Act 4-Removing The Blinders_

Mordecai woke himself up by his loud snoring and found that he was once again at his desk with papers stuck on his face

'Ow, my head. I feel like I've hit a brick wall repeatedly' Mordecai thought as he held his forehead while he rested his elbows on the desk. For a brief second, he sat there in silence before saying out loud

"Do I dare look at the clock" He glanced at the clock on the wall and saw that it was "Twelve o'clock? This can't be. It was midnight when Eileen came...unless…" Mordecai let out a chuckle when he thought he figured everything out

'I knew I was just dreaming' He thought to himself as he gripped his pounding head 'And yet…' He began to think about his two ghostly encounters. How Rigby nearly killed him again. How Eileen tortured him with his memories '…it felt so real'

Mordecai found himself walking to the window he fell out of, then to his assistant's chair that Rigby sat in. None of them seemed to be disturbed from their previous positions. The same could be said for the rest of the office. Everything was exactly where it should be

"I need a moment to think" Mordecai said out loud when he rested his head on the door

At that moment, Mordecai could have swore heard…laughing coming from behind the door. It wasn't one of those maniacal laughs or fake laughs, no. It was a genuinely honest laugh that made him almost crack a smile

At first he thought that he was just hearing things but he just kept hearing it so he opened his office door and searched the hallway for the laugh's origin. Mordecai looked around and found that it was coming from downstairs so he walked to the stairs and saw that a bright yellow light was emitting from the living room. Mordecai was hesitant to check it out until he heard

"Mordecai? Is that you I hear upstairs?" Mordecai was confused more than scared because he recognized the voice right away but it couldn't be, could it "Why don't you come down here. I wouldn't mind your company"

Mordecai slowly descended the stairs and when he got to the living room, his jaw dropped when he saw that the room was decorated from top to bottom. There were streamers and balloons of every color on the ceiling and floor. The green carpet was shaggier and almost looked like grass. The couch was replaced with lawn chairs. The coffee table was replaced with a picnic table. The TV and devices that were connected to it was just gone. And in one corner of the room was a mountain of food, food, and more food from sandwiches, burgers, salads, punch, chicken, hotdogs, fruit and other stuff that you would find at a barbecue. Besides the mountain of food, it basically looked like the park without the trees

"What the-" Mordecai was cut off by someone greeting him

"Why hello there, Mordecai. How nice of you to drop by" Mordecai looked toward the doorway that led to the kitchen and saw someone coming with a medium size red casserole pot in his hands. What he was wearing was a dark blue suit jacket with a white dress shirt underneath. He also had on a red bowtie and a top hat that had a white brim, a blue hatband with white stars, and a red and white striped crown [1]. So basically, he looked like Uncle Sam except for the holster he was wearing with no gun inside (Also, unlike the first two ghosts, this one didn't have legs, like Fives)

"Pops?" Mordecai said to the ghost

"Pardon?" The ghost replied as if he guessed wrong. This made Mordecai give him a full glance over and he deduced that this couldn't be the person he thought it was because even though he had the same huge head as Pops, he looked too young to be the old man he once knew. This ghost looked to be in his twenties and had no facial hair at all

"I'm sorry. I thought-"

"It's quite alright. After all, I haven't properly introduced myself. I'm the Phantom Of Present Situations [**or P.O.P.S. for short**], but I guess you could call me by that name. It was the name I was given when I was part of the land of the living"

"So it is you"

"More or less but this evening I have not come as one of your bosses. I'm here to show you the status of your present life and sort of lead you in the right direction"

"If that's the case, what's with all of this" Mordecai said referring to the room and the food

"Oh this?" Pops said as he put down a piping hot bowl of baked beans "Well, with all the stress and sadness you've experience thus far, I thought that you would like to get your mind at ease before you go on your second journey with me. As a result, I brought the beauty of nature inside our living room so its serene atmosphere could sooth your tense mind. I hope the room is to your liking. I've worked all night on it. Speaking of that, you should try some of the food. I know that you didn't have a hearty lunch and I bet you're starving by now"

Even though Mordecai's stomach growled at this, he couldn't bring himself to comply with Pops request because there was one matter that stuck in his head...He found himself letting out a sigh as he looked up to where this man's room would be

"Is there something wrong, old boy?" Since Pops couldn't read minds, he took a quick glance around the room to find what was troubling his troubled friend "Did I make too much? Are the butterflies too much?"While trying to list off on what was possibly wrong, Pops started to get himself worried up

"No" Mordecai said as he took a slice of a cherry tart and sat at the picnic table. He then took one bite of the pie and said "Just thinking how this is going to be the last time I get to taste this" He took another bite of the pie and grabbed the glass of milk that Pops conveniently set down for him. He then drank some of the cold beverage and whispered "I'm sorry this happened to you"

"It's ok, Mordecai" Pops said while drinking some iced tea "I don't feel bad about it at all"

"I don't see how you could not. You had a life ahead of you and now it has been taken away, just like that"

"That may be true, but it isn't all bad. After all, now I get to see you one last time. And in this small amount of time we have, I'll be able to assist you on your life changing journey. Kind of makes my brief pain worth it; knowing that I could finally help you in your situation" Pops held his neck as he recalled how he observed Mordecai over the years as he turned bitter because of a broken heart. It sadden Pops that he was feeling this way but it upset him even more that he couldn't find a way to help him mend himself because no matter how much Mordecai tried to hide it; he was a broken man…um, bird...

However at the same time Pops was talking, Mordecai was thinking about how Pops said that this would be the last time he would be able to see him

'I don't get it. This is his last moment on earth and he's choosing to spend it by joining this charade Rigby is pulling? He should be getting revenge on his killer. He should be thinking of who should be inheriting the things he owns. But instead, he spent hours dressing the living room and cooking? Sometimes, I just don't understand that man' Mordecai took another bite out of the pie 'Situation? He's acting like I have an injury or is going through financial strains. There's nothing wrong with me. I'm perfectly fine...Ha, life changing journey. This journey has been nothing but a nuisance and a bother' He took the crust and dunked it in the milk and ate it "Who does Eileen think she is?...I'm not replicating anything. I've put the past behind me" Mordecai didn't know that he said that part out loud so he was surprised to hear Pops say

"Why do you sound so uncertain of yourself? You have been certain of this for years now, correct?" Mordecai was immediately going to say yes but no sound come out of his mouth because now there was a hint of doubt. Even though he couldn't shake it from his mind, he decide to change the subject rather than dwell on it

"You said that you were going to lead me on my second journey, right?"

"Yes" Mordecai finished his glass of milk and told him

"Alright, show me the way then. I know you don't have that much time to waste and neither do I sitting here" Mordecai said just to get this over with

"As you wish" Pops got the pot of baked beans and put it on the picnic table in front of Mordecai. He then opened the lid and stirred it with a wooden spoon. While he was doing that, the walls of the living room began to dissolve and the matter left from them went straight into the pot Pops he was stirring. Soon the decorated living room and the items in it disappeared and they were left outside where the sun was just beginning to rise

"What happened to the house?" Mordecai said when he saw that they were still in the park but was surprised to see that the park house was missing

"Don't fret. It's over there" Pops said pointed to the tip of the roof being covered by a hill "Besides, your journey doesn't start here. Its lies elsewhere" Pops put the lid on the pot of beans and carried it by its handles "Follow me"

Without a word, Mordecai followed Pops out of the park and into the streets of Twin Peaks

~* { )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( )( } *~

After thirty minutes of walking, Mordecai wasn't shown anything extravagant or mind-blowing. All there was on their little walk thus far was strangers doing normal things like driving to work, getting their morning coffee, standing by the bus stop, trucks pulling up to stores to drop off merchandise…pointless stuff

"Pops, I feel like I've been walking around in circles. What is the point of this anyway?"

"I don't know. I just wanted to take a walk around town"

"What?"

"It's fun to stretch your legs and take time to smell the roses" Pops set his pot down, took a rose from an old man who was selling flowers on the street corner and placed two lollipops on the small table. He then inhaled the flower's faint scent and handed it to Mordecai before picking up his pot of beans again "Here Mordecai, take a whiff" Mordecai took the rose but he didn't sniff it

"Pops, can we just get to where we need to be and stop taking these unnecessary trips?"

"I don't find this to be unnecessary. I remember that I would always take a walk before officially starting my day; either around town or just through the park. It gives you a chance to press pause on your life and regroup"

"Is that what sleep is for?" Mordecai said sarcastically

"I guess that's true in some ways but sleeping just gives your body rest. This however, just walking without an agenda or reason, gives you a chance to clear your mind and appreciate the good things in life"

Pops happened to spot a bakery and quickly goes in (leaving Mordecai outside for a second) and comes out with a chocolate chip cookie in his mouth and a chocolate chip brownie half wrapped on top of the lid of the pot he was holding. He walked to a bench not too far from the bakery then he motioned Mordecai to sit with. When Mordecai took a seat next to the jolly specter, Pops handed him the brownie then stared into space across the street

Mordecai just looked at the brownie while he sat next to the lollipop man that was enjoying his cookie. He then let out a sigh and bit into the chocolate pastry and was surprised at how good it was

"Tastes good right?" Pops said without looking at him

"Well, it isn't bad" Mordecai said keeping his response mellow "but what's the point in going to a bakery and getting sweets, Pops. Aren't you supposed to be showing me something significant? Because you haven't done anything of the sort so far"

"Patience, my friend, patience. There is no need to rush things"

"What? You just said that you had a small amount of time down here. Why are you wasting it on stuff like this? Just get to the point of this visit already" Pops let out a sigh

"Always in such a hurry...Tell me, how is life through your blurred lens?"

"Huh?"

"Have you ever heard of the quote, 'The joy is in the journey and not in the destination'?"

"What about it?"

"So far, you have been living your life like people nowadays that drive cars. They are trapped in their little bubble and are hung up on getting to their objective. Oblivious to the beautiful world that whizzes past them"

"So now all of the sudden, you're against cars?"

"You're missing the point" Pops said in a sing-song voice as he got up from the bench and walked behind Mordecai. He then covered his eyes with his hands and said "The point is, as busy as you are, you need to take time to slow down and take off your blinders" He then removed his hands from Mordecai's eyes "because eventually all of us are going to come to our end so why not enjoy the time we have left here. Open your eyes beyond the horizon and make your life worth living"

"What are you trying to say; that I don't like the life I'm living?"

"Well, do you enjoy the life you're living? Do you wake up in the morning and love being alive or do you see the rising sun as being another day to get through?" Mordecai scanned his mind and pondered the question that was given to him and thought of how he dreaded to get up and come to a job he hated so much. He had to deal with frustrating employees, paper works that never seemed to get done…sure he was making more money than he ever did and that was all that mattered but… "Life is more than wrapping your world around making money, Mordecai. I should know, since I was born into wealth. Sure, you could buy anything you want but what you should know is that true happiness and contentment lies beyond the green pastures of dollar bills" Pops grabbed the lid from his pot of beans and stirred them again and everything from the cars to the building were sucked into it. After the world around them was sucked away, the pot exploded and spat out new surroundings. When it was finished, they were still outside but were in a different location in Twin Peaks "Let me should you what I mean" Pops closed the lid on his pot and lifted it and when he raised his head, Mordecai couldn't help but notice the brown hair peaking from Pops red, white, and blue top hat

'Is that a brown moustache under his nose too' he thought to himself but before he could ask about the sudden change, Pops told Mordecai to follow him so he followed the ghost to a small old two-story house with chipping gray paint, one broken wooden step, and a metal 'n' missing from the number 'fifteen' (the letter was painted on instead)

"Do you recognize this house?" Pops asked him

"Should I?"

"Yes, after all, this is where your assistant lives" Mordecai just gave him a surprised look "Shocked? Well with the little his 'promotion' pays him, I'm not surprised that this is all he could afford. Even though I've seen worse with people that have gone through the same situation as him"

Mordecai was somewhat informed about Thomas's 'situation' but he didn't think it was this bad. As far as he knew, Thomas's wife died when she had twins which was seven years ago. After her death, he has never remarried so he was left to support his children all by himself

"Let's pay them a visit, shall we" Pops said motioning him up the rickety steps. When they come to the slightly rusted screen door, Pops knocked on the door. Within seconds, the door opened by itself and they let themselves in

Once they were inside, they came across a small hallway that had a staircase at the end of it. As they walked down the hall, Mordecai found himself looking at the pictures on the walls. There was one of a young female antelope with light tan fur (like Thomas) that had bags in her hands, going on a greyhound bus. Another one had two goats with dark brown fur (twins) and a boy antelope with tan fur playing in a purple blow-up pool. Another had a boy goat with tan fur being pounced on by the twins while at a desk…basically this was just walls full of funny family antics until Mordecai came across one that made him froze; Thomas's wedding picture

Mordecai had mixed feelings when he saw this enlarged photo but the first thought that came to mind was when Thomas came to him with the news. He remembered how nervous Thomas was asking if they could have his wedding in the park but at the time, Mordecai's pain for Margaret was still fresh in his head so things didn't go as smoothly as it should have

"Such a lovely young couple, wouldn't you say" Pops said also looking at the picture. Mordecai didn't answer because he knew he would wind up saying something bad about them...even nineteen years after Thomas asked him for that ridiculous request, he still never got over it

"Why did they ever get married?" Mordecai found himself saying

"Probably because of the obvious reason of falling in love" Pops replied

"Because they fell in love" As he repeated Pops words, he thought of what he said to Thomas nineteen years ago. This caused him to form a frown on his beak. Sure, back then, he didn't regret a single word he said to Thomas or his wife but now he was actually starting to feel remorse because he never thought that what he said would actually come true "Pops, what is it that you want me to see here?" Mordecai said looking at the floor; trying to change the subject

"You'll see in a minute. In the meantime, why don't we go into the kitchen" Pops said walking to the doorway on the right

When they entered the room, Mordecai looked around the small temporary country style kitchenette from its muted yellow walls to the wooden flooring. It had white wooden counters and a two-burner stove in the rear wall (towards the right side of the room) and matching cabinets above them with a white microwave installed in the middle of them (directly above the stove). On the right wall was the sink that had a window with blinds and white curtains with green floral patterns in front of it. Next to the sink was the refrigerator that had faded crayon marks on it. And on the ceiling was a small dome-shaped light fixture that lit the room. All in all, it wasn't that bad for looking like only two people could fit into it comfortably but it was functional

After scanning the kitchenette, Mordecai noticed that he heard water running so he instinctively looked at the source of the noise and saw something that made him twitch with disbelief for a second but the tension he was feeling was relieved when Pops said

"Hn, thought that was Dorcas huh?" Pops was indicating the young female antelope with dark brown fur washing dishes "I know, she looks just like her mother" Pops put his hand on Mordecai's shoulder after he placed his pot on the counter and explained "This is Tabatha; Thomas's second eldest daughter [2]" At the moment, she was cleaning up the mess she made from cooking lunch. She was so silent that it was no wonder why Mordecai hadn't notice she was there at first

Suddenly, they heard loud booming noise coming from the hallway so Pops and Mordecai went to see what it was. When they got to the hallway, two young goats came rushing down the stairs. Mordecai wasn't able to get out of their way fast enough. However, just when he was expecting there to be an impact, he felt a slight tingle when one of them phased through his body as they raced to the room opposite of the kitchen

"Woah" Mordecai said holding his head as he felt relief that they were still shadows and not the actual people "I don't think I'll get use to that" Pops just let out a chuckle then followed the twins into the room they were headed to

"Quite a vigorous bunch, aren't they? Hn, let me see if I could tell them apart" Pops said as he observed their features "Ah, the one on the right is Kevin and the one on the left Ember [3]"

"Ember? Ember as in one of them is a girl?" Mordecai asked because from first glance, they both looked like boys

"Yes" Mordecai gave him a look of disbelief "I know, Ember could be rather tomboyish so sometimes it's hard to tell"

As much as Mordecai wanted to keep scratching his head at this, he decided to leave this alone and just follow Pops into the next room which happened to be the dining room. Just like the kitchen, it was a small space. It had asparagus colored walls with a few pictures on it, an old mahogany table with a bowl of oranges and apples in it, a cabinet full of weird knick-knacks, and a desk that was placed in the far left corner of the room. In that area, were the twins pestering an older male goat that was multitasking typing on the computer while eating a snack

"You see that young lad over there with the glasses? That is Benjamin [4]" Pops said pointing to the boy on the computer slowly getting irritated as he tried to ignore his little brother and sister

"Hey Ben" Ember said in a taunting annoying manner while hanging on the back part of the computer chair

"Hey Ben" Kevin repeated standing to the right of the chair; blocking Benjamin's escape

"Hey Ben"

"Hey Ben"

"Hey Ben"

"Hey Ben"

"Hey Ben"

"Hey Ben" they just alternating until Benjamin couldn't take it anymore and he yelled

"What!"

"Whatcha got there, Ben?" Ember said grinning mischievously

"Yogurt [5]" Benjamin said bluntly. Kevin scanned the yogurt in his older brother's hand and noticed it was the low-fat grapefruit kind

"Eww! Boring" Kevin told him while sitting on his lap; almost causing Benjamin to drop his yogurt "When are you going to get off this computer anyway? It's our turn to get on" That's when he saw what was displayed on the monitor "Oh what? Come on"

"What? What is it?" Ember said climbing higher on the back of the chair so she could see which made the chair bend backwards a bit; causing Benjamin to lose his balance a bit "[Groans] Earth to Ben. Earth to Ben" She started to tap Benjamin's head "I don't know if you know this but it is summer vacation. Stop doing homework and hogging the computer"

"Guys, would you just leave me alone. I'm trying to do my summer reading"

"Teacher's Pet" Ember murmured to herself

"[Groan] Why don't you bother Connor or something?" Benjamin said getting more mad by their antics

"Uhhh!" She snatches Benjamin's glasses off his face and climbs down from the chair

"Hey" Benjamin said turning around; trying to reach for his glasses

"I know you can't really see but you can't hear either? Tabby already told us that Conner was…um…what did Tabby say again?" Ember asked Kevin when she couldn't remember

"He's with grandma" Kevin answered

"Yeah…I knew that. I was just testing you"

"Then why didn't you go with her?" Benjamin asked

"Why would we do that, when we have you to keep us from being bored" Ember told him

"Just give me back my glasses, Ember"

"I could do that…" Ember said

"But you would have to let us play on the computer then" Kevin said finishing her sentence

"[Sigh] Fine" Benjamin said in defeat

Just then, the doorbell rung which caused the twins to run to the door out of habit. As a result from excitement, Ember dropped Benjamin's glasses on the floor so he took this opportunity to retrieve his glasses before they got crushed

In the hallway, Kevin got to the door first and went down on his knees while Ember climbed on his shoulders so he could hoist her up. She then looked in the peephole and screamed

"Tabby! Grandma's here! Grandma's here!" By this time, Tabatha came to the door to confirm her sister's outbursts and when she saw an elder female goat with tan fur and brown hair (with a few gray hairs mixed in) on the other side of the door, she opened it and the twins ambush the woman; almost causing her to stumble

"Woah, easy there" She said gathering them into a bear hug while stabling herself "I missed you too"

"Ah, you're squishing us" the twins said in union in a strained voice. However, their grandma only squeezed them tighter before releasing them and placing a kiss on their foreheads

"Alright, we better get inside. I'm sure Conner is very tired from being at the doctor's all afternoon so…"

"Conner?" The twins said together because they were confused until they looked over their grandma's shoulder and saw their older brother (who was the tan antelope) leaning on the banister for support with a medical boot on "Conner!" they said with eagerness as they ran to him. Ember then began to pull his arms towards the house, hoping to play with their 'play-mate' but he let out a hiss of discomfort and said

"Woah there, Ember. I just got here. Give me a second to get myself together, kay"

"Hn, I guess you are too tired. But even too tired to play Sib Crush [6]?" Ember said using reverse psychology on him

"What? I may be exhausted but I'm never too tired to kick your butt at video games" Conner told her

"Hey, I've been getting better, ya know" Ember said putting her hands on her hips "In fact, I bet I could beat both of you the very next time I try"

"Oh really? Ok then, go and set the game up and show me what you got then" Conner told her. Without hesitation, the twins ran into the dining/living room and started to set up the video game. Meanwhile, Connor was about to run after them too until he was reminded about his recently broken leg and felt a sharp pain travel up his calf so he stopped himself and rested on the doorframe

"Are you ok?" Tabatha said in soft voice. Connor took in some breaths and responded with a huge smile

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just got excited is all" Tabatha knew that he was just hiding the pain he was feeling like he always did so her concern never left her

"You shouldn't overexert yourself, honey" their grandmother said "You know what the doctor said"

"Yes grandma" Connor said

"Hey Connor? Are you coming or what?" Ember shouted from the living room

"I'm coming. I'm coming" Connor called back still in a reassuring voice. With that, he started to move forward but it was at snail's pace so Tabatha decided to help him out and piggybacked him the rest of the way (making sure to be very careful of his leg) [7]

At the same time, the grandmother remained outside and took out her cellphone. Once she dialed the phone number, she waited for the dial tone and then the person on the other end answered

"Hello?" Mordecai was a little surprised to hear his assistant's voice because it appeared in his head and not like it would if it was on speaker

"Hello honey, it's me"

"Hi mom, is everything ok?"

"Everything is fine. I've picked up Conner and everyone is getting ready for the fireworks tonight"

"Speaking of that, did you hear from Thelma?"

"No, not yet"

"[Sigh] I hope she is ok. I was really hoping that she would be able to visit this week. Well I wouldn't be surprised if she was mounted with homework from taking that summer class this semester so…[8]"

"Don't be so negative. We still have an hour before the event starts. She might be stuck in traffic or something"

"An hour?" Mordecai said confused "Wasn't it just lunch time a few moments ago?" That's when he looked up at the sky and noticed that the sun was already setting "How long were we in there?"

"Only a few minutes" Pops told him "I just took the liberty in speeding up time a bit so you wouldn't have to wait so long"

"Ok" Mordecai said turning back to the conversation at hand

"Ok, so what did the doctors say today?" Thomas said changing the subject. His mother paused for a second as her face showed concern and grimness

"He finished his diagnose and like I suspected he has Type 2 RTA [9]…But because of his young age, he has to undergo some treatment and…"

"Treatment? Oh no. I was afraid of that" Thomas said sounding very nervous

"It's not all that bad. Half of the battle is getting him some more Vitamin D which could be easily remedied with some calcium supplements"

"What's the other half?"

"Well, he says that since we've waited so long to have him checked out, he might need braces for his back and his other leg and…"

"Braces [Groan]. They're just trying to suck the money out of me. It's bad enough that we're struggle to pay the bill for his broken leg"

"I know but if we don't and leave things to their own devices, by the time he stops growing, things could get worse and he'll eventually need surgery again"

"I know. I know….I just don't know how we're going to get the money to afford all of this"

"Pops?" Mordecai said "I know you said that you are the spirit of present events but would you know if the child…Connor is it? Is his condition that serious? Will he be ok?"

"I don't know for certain but from what I could vaguely see, there will be an empty bunk bed in the boys' bedroom. And another empty seat at the dinner table" Pops said while taking off his hat "The way things look, I fear that the poor child will die if these shadows remain unchanged" Mordecai looked inside the house where Conner would be and stared for a while as the thought of this poor boy flooded his mind. You could say that it almost looked like he felt sympathy for the sickly antelope

"But he's just a…" Mordecai finally spoke up but he started to lose his voice, just thinking of this innocent boy perishing

"Well if he is going to die than he better do it. At least the world will be benefited with one less diseased person around" Mordecai was surprised to hear Pops say something like that. He's such a kind spirit that hearing Pops say that made him feel like he was in the twilight zone. But as horrid as those words sounded on his lips, Pops was only spitting Mordecai's words back at him. And hearing them made him actually feel…guilty

While Mordecai let Pops words sink in, he zoned out of the other conversation until he heard his name being said

"…for Mordecai"

"What? How could you be thinking of your penny-pinching boss at a time like this?" Thomas's mother said astonished at her son

"Well, he is the person that gives me my income so…"

"Income? What income? You're bringing home pennies every week just because your jerk of a boss feels justified to do so; and after all you've done too"

"Mom"

"If only he was here right now, I would give that inconsiderate, stingy, cold-hearted bird a piece of my mind"

"Mother, he may not be the most tolerable person in the world but he is still my boss. Without him, I would probably have no revenue at all and we would most likely be living on the street (if not, your house) so please don't think ill of him. He's just going through a hard time"

"And you're not? Thomas, you're a single father with six kids and one is in college. The least what he could do is give you a decent paycheck and insurance that will cover your children but he's even too full with greed to do that [10]…It's was miracle that you managed to keep things stable thus for…now we have this hovering over our heads" She said referring to Connor's hospital bills

"Look" Thomas said in a comforting voice "I know that you're worried about Connor and the rest of us but we can't stress ourselves out to the point of hopelessness and doubt. We've got to keep our head up, Mom. Things will work themselves out. After all, if we don't have hope, we have nothing" His mother leaned on the doorframe, stared at a random spot by the front window then let out a sigh

"Hn, now I see where Connor gets his optimism from. I just hope that you're right"

While Mordecai was distracted by the conversation in front of him, Pops went back into the kitchen and retrieved his pot. But when he lift it up, he started to notice how heavy it was getting. This didn't surprise him though because he knew the reason why this was so, so he brushed off the slight pain his back and carried his pot to the front porch

Once he got to the front door, Mordecai heard his footsteps and turned his attention to his ghostly host who was placing his red pot on a porch chair that was nearby. After Pops, set it down, he conjured up a wooden spoon and once again stirred the pot of beans. Just like last time, everything from the wood from the house to the blades on Thomas's lawn was sucked into the pot. Even a couple of the houses adjacent to it were starting to disintegrate and were being replaced with different houses that were too dark to see much detail. As a matter of fact, everything seemed a bit dark until Mordecai saw the reason which was the simple fact that it was already evening

When the scene was finished resetting itself, Pops put the lid back on the pot again. That's when Mordecai could hear music blasting from the new house that was in front of him

"Wow, it looks like a jolly good party going on right now. Shall we go inside and enjoy the festivities" Pops said to him

"Why? Shouldn't we be moving onto more important matters instead of making side trips?"

"This is an important stop" Pops said with a hint of strain in his voice from carrying his pot "After all, why would I bring you to one of your dearest friend's house if it wasn't for a good reason"

"Dearest friend?" It didn't bother Mordecai that he didn't have people to call his 'friends' but this made him curious on who Pops would consider to be his 'friend'. However, with every step Mordecai took towards the front door, he couldn't shake the nervousness he was feeling. Even though he remembered that people wouldn't be able to see him, he still felt uncomfortable being in a surrounding that he didn't know what to expect. Especially when he hasn't done this sort of thing in years

Nevertheless, despite his uneasiness, he pressed himself to move forward. He then put his hand on the doorknob and his whole arm went right through so he phased the rest of his body through the door and appeared in an orange living room with tan and/or red furniture. Along with the beige curtains and the black vases with trigs inside; it emanated this warm aura that made the living space feel homey

After briefly looking at the vacant living room, Mordecai made his way down to the next room and ended up in the kitchen where he saw a certain woman that he made every last afford to avoid. She was dressed in a purple and black tankini with a grayish brown jacket and flip flops on. Her white cloud hair wasn't in a ponytail like she would normally have it. Instead, it was down to her shoulders dripping because she probably just got out of a pool or something

Mordecai watched as she grabbed some drinks from the refrigerator and started to bring them outside but what Mordecai notice out of anything else was that she wasn't wearing her trademark smile she always did. What replaced it simply wasn't her, it was CJ, and it surprisingly bothered him as she let out a sigh before opening the sliding door that lead to her backyard; pasting a fake smile as she passed around the beverages to people

When she was done with that, she leaned up against the side of the house and let out another sigh. That's when a guy that was completely made of water (wearing black trucks) walked towards her [11]

"Hey Cuz" the guy said greeting her

"Huh?" CJ said being brought out of her train of thought "Oh hi Doug"

"Alright CJ, what's eating you?" Doug said sounding concerned as well as suspicious

"Nothing really. Just a little disappointed that one person I invited didn't come"

"Oh, so it's about birdbrain again"

"Pretty much but it's mostly about what happened yesterday and the things he said...It's amazing how he still hasn't lost his wits and yet he uses it cut people and bring them down. I fear that if he doesn't watch it, it's going to be his undoing"

"Well, they don't call him the 'Twin Cheeks' for nothing"

"Really? Come on. That's not even clever"

"What? I think it suits him. He is a complete ass sometimes and for what? If you ask me, he is just completely ungrateful. He's making more than you and me and-"

"Like that makes a different. He's always looking for ways to get more that he's never satisfied with anything so how is any sort of stability or money any use to him? It's not like it benefits him or anyone else"

"[Groan] If he's such a prick, why do you keep worrying yourself about him? All he seems to do is drain you and make you depressed. If you ask me, you should just cut your losses and go your separate ways"

"Easier said than done. You're basically asking me to abandon someone I care about"

"So you would rather have him stress you out and treat you like dirt?"

"Doug…I wish you could see the whole picture. He's not just some person that I could turn my back on. He's my friend and I can't just sit here and watch him waste his life away. You and everyone else might think that he is just a cruel-hearted asshole but just like it is said that 'No one is born evil', not everyone is born hating the world either. He used to be one of the coolest guys I ever met and now…he's just broken. And as a friend, I can't stop trying to put him back together. And I won't stop because if I did, what kind of friend would I be?"

"A foolish one" CJ looked surprised at her cousin's word but she relaxed when he continued to say "A true friend but a foolish one nonetheless"

"Well, I would rather become a fool than be the smartest person on earth if I could somehow get him out of the rut he's in. Why do you think I visit him all the time? Why do you think I invited him to this party; hoping that maybe it would spark something in" There was a pause before Doug put his hand on her shoulder and said

"So what happens when your party doesn't go to plan and he doesn't show up?"

"Well, I guess that he loses a chance to insert a possible enjoyable moment in his life" Even though she hung her head low after that comment, the smirk on her face never wavered "It's a shame. He could be so stubborn sometimes. He chooses to hate everyone and would rather have the empty companionship he finds his vacant office. Just because he can't let go of one event that turned his life upside down…well what am I talking about? If anything, I'm no better. I still see hope in reviving the friend I use to know after he has been dead for twenty years" CJ then pushed herself from the wall and crossed her arms "Well, only time will tell to see who is more stubborn and judging from yesterday, I know I succeeded in getting to him. Even if it was just a merge crack in the barrier he hides behind, I know that with-"

By this time, she looked up to see her cousin's reaction but to her surprise, he was gone. That's when she heard the music turn up a couple of notches. She looked over at the boombox and saw that Doug was the cause of it. She then face-palmed herself but she couldn't help but grin at his actions. He then walk back to her and pulled her toward where the rest of her guest were and said

"You know what? You're losing a possible chance of enjoying yourself. It a party we're at, right? So lets have some fun" Doug started to dance all goof to the music which caused CJ to laugh even harder "What are you laugh at? I'm doing a perfectly good 'Dougie'"

"Yeah, to MSD [12]. Here let me show you how it's done" and she joined him

Meanwhile, Mordecai watched as CJ and the rest of the guest danced; having a good time and releasing their cares to the wind. Just looking at them filled him with a sense of longing and pity. He didn't know why but all he knew was that he was fighting with the need of keeping his distant as he found himself staring more at the dance floor; just observing the whole atmosphere and how it was affecting everyone. He didn't even notice that he was tapping his foot and bobbing his head to the music

"Wow, that's a look I haven't seen in a while" Mordecai turned his head and saw Pops heading for the refreshment table. It looked like he was having trouble carrying the pot so he ran to him to see why that was. However when he caught up to him and looked at his face, he was surprised to see that Pops was even older (past the age he would have been if he was still alive) [13]. His moustache was white as snow and his head looked pruned like a raisin. To be honest, he looked drained and fragile like a walking toothpick but despite that he still had a jolly look on his face "I never thought I would see the day when I see you actually smile again" Pops continued; mostly talking to himself

Mordecai just ignored his comment and grabbed the pot from him. He then immediately tilted forward; almost lost his balance when he found out how heavy it really was

"Man, I'm surprised you didn't break your back carrying this" Mordecai put the pot on the table and leaned on edge of the table to catch his breath "There can't be just beans in there. What's in this anyway?"

"Your burdens" Pop answered and then took out his spoon and started to stir the pot again. And for the final time, their surroundings started to dissolve into the pot but in the middle of the process, Mordecai called out to the spirit and asked

"What? But that doesn't make any sense"

"A lot of things in this world don't make sense, Mordecai" Was all he said as he continued changing the scenery until Mordecai found that they were back at the house. However, they weren't the right size. As a matter of fact, they were the size of mice sitting on top of the grandfather clock in Pops room

Besides being smaller in stature, this setting Pops had chosen began to really intimidated Mordecai because unlike the places they've been thus far, this space gave off an ominous aura like when he first saw Pops murdered in this room. The walls were darker than normal (when its nighttime), the window was open so a cold chill swept the room (despite the fact that it was summer), and the loud ticking of the clock was resonating slower than a normal heartbeat; causing tension in the air

The cool breeze that was rolling in was breaking Mordecai's calm and collected composure which prompted him to hug himself and shiver. This caused him to become more impatient than normal so he looked for his ghostly host to see what was up. It didn't take long because all it took was for him to look behind himself to find Pops sitting Indian-style in mid-air with his pot on his lap

At first, he was going to complain to him on what was the point of being here like this but the closer he got to the spirit, the more it became clear that he was wasting away. You could literally see the minor details of his skeletal structure from his boney fingers to his skinny arms and a few exposed ribs poking out of his patriotic suit

"Pops, what's happening to you?" Mordecai asked him with a hint of concern

"I told you, Mordecai. I only have a small amount of time on this earth..." Pops scrawny finger pointed to the face of the clock and said "and it'll end at the stroke of midnight"

"Midnight?" Mordecai looked bewildered because the last time he checked his clock, it was already midnight. So the fact that it was almost midnight for the second time in a row baffled him, but only for a moment because when he saw that it was eleven-fifty, fear and distress filled his psyche for the dying spirit before him

However, his apprehensiveness was pushed aside as his curiosity got the better of him when he happened to see something peeking out of the pot Pops was holding

"Um, Pops…I think there is something moving in your pot" Mordecai went closer to look at it and the extremities poking out of the lid twitched which cause Mordecai to freak out and take a step back "Woah, was that a claw or hand or…w-w-what was that?" Mordecai stuttered his words as he tried to regain his composure

"It could be a claw for the little amount of flesh that is still upon on" Pops said in a monotone voice "Take a look" He opened the lid and two figures peeked their heads out. This scared Mordecai a bit so he turned his head at the sheer sight of them. This upset Pops and he told him "Mordecai…Mordecai! Look at them!"

This surprised Mordecai because Pops wasn't a person to raise his voice at anyone so like a child to an angry parent, Mordecai turned his attention to the pot where these two adolescent gremlins were staring back at him with piercing green eyes. They were boney, had skin that had the consistency of clay if it was a peach color, and pointed elf ears. One was hissing at Mordecai like he was going to scratch him with his overgrown nails while the other one showed him a roguish smile

"What are they? Are they yours?" Mordecai asked in disgust. Pops just shook his head and replied

"No. They are man's" He then pointed to the creatures in the pot and said "This boy here is Ignorance. And this girl is Want. Watch out for both of them; especially the boy because the longer he clings to you, will certainly assure your demise" That's when the gremlins crawled out of the pot and held onto Pops

"But why do they cling to you? What purpose do they have in doing so?" Mordecai asked but his question wasn't answered because now the grandfather clock was starting to strike twelve. He could see that the gremlins were zapping him of his strength so he ran to pull them off but when he went to touch one of them, the boy gremlin lunged at him. Mordecai was expecting to be bitten or scratched at (especially when he was baring his teeth at him) but instead, his body phased right through Mordecai's

Instantly after that, the gremlin's body dissipated into a puff of black smoke and so did Want and what was left of the skeleton of what use to be Pops

Now that he was alone in this gloomy room, caused Mordecai to be full of anxiety. And what made it worse was that the clock finished sounding off and the room began to get even darker (if that was even possible)

Mordecai looked around the room constantly; expecting something bad to happen. And like he suspected, he was right. Something was coming and it was coming for him…

* * *

**A/N: Phew, finally finished with the chapter. Sorry for the lateness guys. All I could say is that school is kicking my ass and eating up my time for writing. Speaking of that, Blue are you done with my homework yet?**

**Blue: Stop rushing me for the fifth time [Yawn]. I'll get it done when I get it done**

**Scarlet: You were suppose to have that done hours ago**

**Blue: What? I'm tired and it's not like you had to pull all-nighters**

**Scarlet: Excuses, excuses, I want to see some results**

**Blue: [Snores while drooling on work]**

**…**

**[1] Crown=So there is no confusion, this is not the type of crown that a king or queen wears. This is the part of the hat that your head goes in**

**[2] Tabatha is sixteen and is a junior in high school. She is a very soft spoken, sweet girl that tends to keep to herself because she is very shy around people she doesn't know. She also is a great cook and is the one that prepares the meals for the family unless her grandmother comes over (Just think of Hinata from _Naruto_)**

**[3] Ember and Kevin are the seven year old twins. They are very mischievous second graders and tend to stick together despite how different they are. Ember is the eldest one and shows herself to be the leader of the two. She is manipulative, tomboyish, and is basically a big ball of energy. Kevin on the other hand, is the more sensible one but just goes along with his sister's antics for whatever reason (Just think of Hikaru and Kauro from _Ouran High School Host Club_. Ember=Hikaru...Kevin=Kaoru) **

**[4] Benjamin is Thomas's oldest son. He is twelve years old and is in the seventh grade. He is very smart for his age and aces all of his classes. However, he doesn't socialize much and is found either on the computer or studying doing schoolwork **

**[5] This was inspired by a Creepypasta video of Jeff the Killer and BEN Drowened on YouTube. The only difference is that Ben says "meat" instead of "yogurt". I have to thank The Kishin Killer aka Hitomi (my sister) for showing me it**

**Hitomi: Man, it's about time that you mention me in something. Took you along enough**

**Blue: Hitomi, not now**

**Hitomi: What do you mean 'not know'. It took you a story and a half and now you decide to put me in here? And dude, what's with you using that stupid bat when I made you a perfectly good hammer**

**Scarlet: Hitomi, we're on a time limit here! Wrap it up already**

**Hitomi: No one asked you Tinkerbell**

**Scarlet: Who are you calling 'Tinkerbell', fat-ass rat [she's half red panda]**

**Hitomi: You know what, you're getting one step closer to getting those wings ripped off**

**Blue: [Sighs and whispers to the viewer] And you wonder why I reframe from putting her in stories. They never get along [She then pries the fighting girls apart] Moving on... **

**[6] Sib Crush= Super Smash Bros.**

**[7] Connor is ten years old and is a fifth grader. He is the one that creates balance among the rest of the siblings and is very compatible with everyone he meets. He gets along with Benjamin, he brings out the social side of Tabatha, and he keeps the twins occupied. Also, he tends to think of others more than himself which tends to lead to his undoing sometimes...What happened to him that caused him to break his leg was an accident that involved him trying to do a flip on a trampoline **

**[8] Thelma is the eldest child who is a sophomore in college trying to get her degree in criminal justice. She is nineteen years old and has an 'independent' vibe about her. Most of the time, she is strictly business and is very professional and responsible but she knows how to also relax and have fun (unlike Benjamin). Also, just so you know, Dorcas was pregnant with Thelma before she got married to Thomas. You could imagine the things Mordecai said when Thomas talked about marrying her **

**[9] RTA=Renal Tubular Acidosis. It's a disease that people suspected Tiny Tim to have in the Christmas Carol. Basically, it's a disease that affects your kidneys and causes them to not remove acid from the blood (making the blood acidic). The cause of this is having a lack of Vitamin D (aka. bad nutrition) and in his case Fanconi Syndrome. Connor's symptoms are going to the bathroom excessively, dehydration, confusion, his alertness decreases, he has a fast and/or irregular heartbeat, muscle and bone pains, osteomalacia (soften bones) and possibly skeletal deformities **

**[10] When Dorcas was alive, she was making the bulk of the money in the family so at the time, they were pretty stable. However, when she pasted away, the children were now uninsured because Mordecai didn't provide coverage for his employees' families (just them). This does not include Thelma because her college provide health insurance. Speaking of that, if you're wondering how she was able to get into college with her family having money problems, basically she has a few scholarships and two jobs to cover the rest**

**[11] Think of Doug as one of those water nymphs from Adventure Time**

**[12] MSD is short for Move, Shake, Drop by Pitbull. Plus, you all know about that dance craze that was around years ago, right? ... "Teach Me How To Dougie" (ok I don't have to explain that) **

**[13] Perfect example to explain how he looked: Remember that episode when Pops did the milk challenge and he got sick and threw up. He came back looking ill and shriveled **

**...**

**P.S. Anyone have any guesses on who the third ghost might be? You definitely won't suspect it**

**P.S.S. Love the Reviews (good or otherwise). Thanks**


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